Finding a Family
by The Forgotten Nobody
Summary: Rewrite of One Big Happy Family. After being rescued from captivity, Alex ends up living with K-Unit while he recovers. Unfortunately, his captors aren't going to let him go that easily. Now trying to protect Alex whilst also find out what he's been through in the past years, Alex may find himself unintentionally finding a family in these men. Some strong language.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello everyone, so this is the rewrite of One Big Happy Family. I have decided to change the name mainly because soon the differences will become fairly large and though they follow the same essential plot, it could be considered maybe an AU of my story. An AU of an AU if you will. I am currently rewriting Chapter 10 so I don't know how extreme the changes will be but some are fairly large. _

_One noticeable difference I should warn you about already is that this story takes place after Scorpia, not Snakehead. This is mainly because when rewriting, I forgot this little fact and wrote it as if it were after Scorpia. This rewrite of the story is going to be more serious than the original. Hopefully this rewrite will be better in quality and not too many people will mind the changes I've made. If you want, read this at the same time as One Big Happy Family and you'll be able to see the changes better. _

_I will most likely be updating every 3-4 days, but as always, that may change depending on what goes on in real life so don't hold me to it. Without further ado, _

**Finding a Family**

"Remember Unit, we go in, find the agent and get back out. No fighting unless necessary and no leaving the group. This is a retrieval mission and nothing more. Any questions? No? Then move!"

Wolf watched as his unit moved in to find the agent, keeping an ear out for any unwanted attention. Blunt had been very sparse in his details and so Wolf didn't have much to go on. He knew the agent was male but no more than that about what he looked like. He had been given the route to the cell block and Blunt had stressed the fact that this agent was extremely valuable and should be retrieved with the minimum amount of fuss possible. Blunt had warned him that the information had been found far easier than expected and that they should watch out for a trap. Wolf wasn't fond of walking his Unit into what could potentially be a trap, considering recent events, but Blunt was a difficult man to say no to.

Fox nodded to him on the way inside and Wolf returned the gesture. He was glad that their wayward team member was back with them. His friend may have moved onto MI6 but that didn't remove the fact they worked damn well as a team together and it had been hard to learn how to work without him. It was good to note that they hadn't lost that ability to operate together after all that time, and his MI6 training had made them even better. Apparently, Blunt had been adamant that Fox be on the mission and, once he'd heard that the rest of K-Unit had been sent back to England, that they be on it with him. He wasn't sure why, but he was hardly going to complain. Perhaps it could convince Fox to come back.

The building itself looked like an old factory but Wolf had been informed that it was a hideout for a criminal organisation that Blunt gave next to no details on, as per usual. Apparently, that was also information that they didn't need to know. They sneaked past the guards, mostly using Fox's expertise, and they followed the route they had been shown before entering.

Unfortunately, luck was not on their side and they did not remain undiscovered. Two guards quickly came to try and stop them but luckily they managed to dispose of them without an alarm being sounded. They concealed the guards in a nearby alcove and made their way onwards.

Wolf now understood what Blunt meant about this possibly being a trick. The short version was that this was going way too smoothly. If this agent was as important as Blunt suggested then surely the security on him would be much larger, there was hardly anyone around. There wasn't really much Wolf could do about that though, except just hope that should they be walking into a trap, that they get themselves, and the agent, out relatively unscathed.

No less than ten minutes later they made it to the white hallway of the cell block. Splitting up, they checked each window for sign of the agent. Most were empty and they were beginning to worry that the agent was not there and had been relocated when Eagle signalled that he'd found him. The others gathered around him and through the small window Wolf could see a shadow in the corner of the cell.

The shadow moved at the sign of noise and instinctively shuffled even further backwards. Unfortunately, the cell was too dark and he couldn't get a good look at the agent but it didn't look like he was in the best of shape. They had to get him out of there as soon as possible.

The door had a code on it and Fox pulled out a small device that would somehow unlock it. Wolf didn't know the details and he didn't really want to. He doubted he'd understand it. He much preferred guns, a lot more simple.

The small device gave a quiet beep and they heard the sound of a latch moving. The door was open. Much to their misfortune, this also set off an alarm and Wolf hurried in there. There was no time to waste.

"Listen, we're here to get you out. We're from MI6. Can you walk?" Wolf asked as he got inside. The light that had now entered the room allowed him to get a look at the agent. What he saw stopped him in his tracks.

"What…" The agent groaned, shuffling further back, and the sound only confirmed Wolf's realisation.

"What is it?" asked Snake, wondering why on Earth Wolf had stopped. They had to get out of there!

Wolf didn't answer him; all he could do was stare in shock. There, hunched up in the corner, body bloody and pale, was a young man no older than sixteen. Wounds of various forms littered his frame, a frame that screamed malnourishment. The jeans he wore, the only piece of clothing he had on him, were tattered and ready to fall apart. According to Blunt, the kid had been in captivity for a week. The sights of what had happened to the child made Wolf want to be sick. That wasn't the worst part though. No, what was worse was that Wolf knew this kid and he now understood why they of all people had been given the job.

"Cub"


	2. Chapter 2

_I should warn you now that some details in this story may be wrong as I haven't read any of the Alex Rider books since I wrote the original story. I am just using what I wrote previously to guide me. I know I said I wouldn't update for 3-4 days but the first chapter was more a prologue and didn't say much. I would much rather leave you with this chapter for that length of time._

* * *

The entire unit was in shock. This was not the cocky rich kid they'd met in Brecon Beacons or the trained spy Wolf had helped in Point Blanc. This was a child who had been tortured and left in a cell half dead. All misconceptions and judgements that had placed on the boy vanished at the sight of him. No one deserved this, and every negative thing they had said to and about him left sick feelings in them.

Questions ran through each of their heads, ranging from 'what was he doing here' to 'how wrong were we?' None of these questions could be answered then and that was ok. The most important thing for all of them was that they get Cub out of there so they could be. It was the least they could do.

Their states of astonishment were broken by the sounds of footsteps. If they stayed there any longer there was the real possibility they would be caught and potentially killed.

"Let's go" Wolf commanded as he tore his eyes away from the injured boy. "Snake, you're the strongest of us all, you carry him" It was obvious Cub wouldn't be able to walk by himself. He'd fallen unconscious mere moments after he'd entered the cell. He wasn't even sure if he'd heard that they were there to rescue him.

Snake nodded and carefully lifted Cub into his arms, cradling him to his chest. The boy instinctively jerked away, his body's unconscious attempt to protect him, but Snake held on as tight as possible without hurting him. None of his injuries looked life-threatening but he had no idea of whether he had any problems internally. He was also light, far too light than a boy of his age should be and it concerned Snake. He could almost see his ribs and he wondered when the last time was Cub had had a good solid meal.

"Let's go"

There were two entrances to the cells and fortunately it sounded like the guards were approaching from the side opposite the entrance so they were able to get out the way they came. Snake attempted to keep Cub in as comfortable position as possible but there was no escaping the jostling as he kept up with his team mates. Occasionally Cub would groan in pain and Snake would try and go as slow as he could whilst still keeping up.

In a shorter amount of time it took to get in, they exited the warehouse and got into the car that had been parked a street away.

Wolf took the driver's seat and Fox got shotgun. Eagle slid in next to Cub who was placed between him and Snake. They rearranged the boy so his head rested on Snake's knees and his feet were over Eagle. Now on the way back, Snake was able to assess Cub's condition properly. He had a multitude of bruises and cuts and troubling burns on his shoulder and chest. There was also dried blood on his hair, both on the front and back suggesting head trauma however he wasn't sure how serious they were. He gently prodded Cub's ribs and frowned. At least two were broken which explained his laboured breathing. There was a particularly large gash that ran across his stomach and just onto his back. That was all the recent injuries that he could identify. There was also a scar on his chest that Snake knew came from a bullet. It appeared to be fairly recent and it deeply bothered Snake. No child should have a wound like that.

No matter if he was a teenager, the hurt and vulnerable state he was in made them realise that he was still a minor, someone who shouldn't be in this sort of situation. They all felt burning regret at how they had treated Cub in the past. They all wished that they had realised that Alex truly was being trained for dangerous missions, and that was something that was not ok. Wolf wished he hadn't been more concerned about Alex when they'd worked together and thought about how he as a minor shouldn't have been included in the mission at all. However, despite these regrets, the past couldn't be changed. The future, though, could and they were going to make damned sure they made it up to Cub. Wolf started that by stepping on the accelerator.

* * *

Alex was no stranger to nightmares. They came with the job. That didn't mean he every truly got used to them though and this new set was even worse than some of the previous ones.

_He could feel the heat as the flaming metal pierced his skin. His lips let out a scream,_ _he'd given up trying to be silent long ago since it made no difference, and his captors laughed at him. They laughed at him a lot as they were causing pain, it was their favourite past time. _

"_You're sick! Monsters" He choked out, his eyes stinging with tears he refused to let fall. _

_That caused another chuckle. "Now, now Alex. Didn't your parents ever tell you monsters aren't real? Oh, that's right. I suppose they never got around to that seeing as they're dead. Such a shame" This time the metal was placed on his chest and he wasn't lucky enough to black out._

* * *

K-Unit entered MI6 headquarters wanting some answers. They had just dropped Cub off at the hospital and now they were eager to find out why the hell he had been in that cell. Fox had attempted to tell them that it was unlikely Blunt would tell them anything except ask them to debrief, and that it probably wasn't a good idea, but no amount of persuasion would stop them. Realising everything he was doing was futile, Fox sighed in resignation. Admittedly, he wanted answers as well but he knew Alan Blunt far better than his friends and he could not see this end well for anyone. The best scenario he could think of was them actually getting through the debrief with only Wolf shouting.

They all waited anxiously in the elevator, with varying degrees of anger accompanying it, and they each dealt with it in different ways. Wolf stood stoically, Fox kept unclenching and clenching his hands, Snake paced a bit and Eagle's made him more hyperaware so his eyes were darting around a mile a minute as he took everything in. Last time they had been briefed through the Sergeant so they didn't have a chance to go in the bank and it was a lot different to what they were used to.

The elevator stopped and opened, revealing a dark blank hallway. It matched its occupants. Each step echoed and it wasn't welcoming in the slightest, most likely made to be that way on purpose. They were accompanied to the office door but before they went in the man held an arm out.

"Name?"

"Agent Daniels ID number 0103**"**

"Them" he gestured his head to the rest of K-Unit. Wolf had to restrain himself from asking what the point of this was when Fox had already been ID'd. If they were here to kill Blunt then this guy would have hardly been able to stop them getting in.

"We have just recently been on a mission and found something that concerned us. I'm sure Mr. Blunt would be very interested to debrief us and hear what we have to say"

Technically it wasn't a lie, just an omission of the truth. The truth that he doubted they'd get through debriefing at all.

The man nodded and allowed them through. Inside they were met with the blank face of Mr Blunt with Mrs Jones right beside him, sucking a peppermint.

"Ah, Agent Daniels and K-Unit. I was just about to call you but I see that is not necessary. I assume the mission went without a problem?"

"If by without a problem you mean he was lucky to still be alive, then yes, it did" Wolf said, his voice laced with anger. "What the hell was Cub doing in there?!"

Blunt raised an eyebrow. "It was an unfortunate incident and you can trust that those who should have been keeping an eye have been dealt with"

"He's just a child! He shouldn't have been in that 'incident' and he shouldn't be in hospital. What he should be doing is playing video games and going to school like everyone else his age!" Snake argued, stepping up to be beside Wolf.

Blunt's eyebrow was still raised. "I don't remember hearing these concerns when he was training with you at Brecon Beacons, or when he was working with you at Point Blanc" He looked at Wolf critically.

They all looked ashamed, Wolf most of all, but still determined. "That was different. At Brecon Beacons we thought he was just the son of some rich guy and I never really thought he was in that much danger at Point Blanc" Wolf admitted, wishing he'd really thought about the situation at the time. He had a lot to apologise to Cub for.

"Hey, that's a point. What do his family have to say about this?" Eagle spoke up.

Beside Blunt, Mrs Jones sighed. It was only a matter of time before the subject of Alex's family came up.

"Alex has no remaining family left" she said. "His guardian was killed as he was kidnapped"

"Shit" Fox sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Wait, so who are his guardians now then?" He had a bad feeling.

"That would be us" Blunt replied and Fox's heart sank. Yeah, not good.

"You?" Wolf gave a short laugh. "Are you kidding me?! Look at what's happened to him already because of you lot and that was without you being his bloody guardians! He isn't safe with you"

"And where would you propose he stay? He is a valuable spy whom trouble follows even without our help. It would be too dangerous to put him in an orphanage or with foster parents, not to mention I doubt he'd be best pleased with them. The most logical option is that he remain here where he will be protected" Blunt explained calmly.

"Between missions you mean and what's to say he won't get killed during one of those. This is no life for a kid!" Wolf growled.

"Ah, but that is the very reason he is one of our best agents" Blunt countered. "No one would ever expect a child to be a spy. His methods may not be traditional but he is has been very successful"

"I don't care. He shouldn't be put through this. He's a human being, not a pawn in your plans" Wolf replied.

"I'm curious to how you think you can change anything" Blunt said, slightly amused.

Wolf spoke without thinking. "He can stay with us" His eyes widened when he'd realised just what he'd said but he found he couldn't take the words back. It wasn't the best answer he could have come up with, certainly not the most practical, but anything was better than let Cub stay in a place like this alone, especially when recovering from his ordeal.

Thankfully his team mates backed him up, even if they thought his decision was pretty stupid and hasty, which it was.

"It would work. I am a trained medic and can oversee his recovery. I'm sure you would agree it is a much better situation as you wouldn't have to worry about him here and he would be more than safe with three SAS soldiers and maybe even an agent protecting him" Snake said, casting a glance at Fox.

It was a good job they'd kept the flat they had all shared since they'd first become a unit, Wolf thought briefly. It meant they had the perfect place to house Cub.

"You do realise you have jobs that require you to be out of the country. How do you expect to take care of a teenager?" Blunt asked.

"We currently have time off" Eagle said. "The duration of it is currently undecided but I'm certain the Sergeant would have no problem with it once we explain the situation. Also, wouldn't you say that looking after him is a job in itself? What if the people who kidnapped him try to do it again, especially considering he's so _valuable" _The word dripped with repulsion. "It can just be for while he recovers and we'll discuss what happens after once it needs to be considered" His argument was logical and reasonable and his team mates looked at him with appraisal. It's true, Eagle was the talker of the group, but he'd really outdone himself this time.

Blunt stayed silent and everyone waited in anticipation.

"Fine, as long as the Sergeant agrees. I do hope you realise what you're signing yourselves up to gentlemen. Agent Rider hasn't been known to make things easy"

Fox couldn't believe his ears. Blunt had actually agreed to let go of an agent, even if it was temporary. There was the question of whether he'd actually be able to stay as well though. Blunt was his boss now and it was up to him whether he could help.

As if reading his mind, Blunt carried on. "Agent Daniels, you have permission to stay behind as well and protect Agent Rider"

Fox had to smother a grin. "Thank you sir, and don't worry, we've been trained to handle a wide variety of things. What harm can a fourteen year old boy do?"

"What harm indeed" Blunt said dryly. "You have a lot of preparation to do I believe. You can be the ones to collect Agent Rider from the hospital when he's ready. Please don't try to kill him" Blunt dismissed them and they exited the room. Once out, they all grinned at each other.

"I can't believe he actually agreed" Fox said in disbelief as they went back down the elevator.

"Neither can I" Wolf confessed. The weight of his decision finally settled on him and a sudden burst of panic arose. "Oh shit, I don't know how to look after a teenager" He looked at his team mates and the realisation dawned on them that they don't either, and they looked back helplessly.

"We'll do the best we can. My cousin has teenage children. I can always call her up" Snake said, trying to keep a cool head about it. "We've said we would. We owe it to him. We have to do this now. For Cub"

The group looked at each other and nodded.

"For Cub"


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing they did upon arriving back at the flat was contact the Sergeant. Snake dialled the number and got patched through relatively quickly.

"Snake?" The Sergeant questioned. His voice was gruff and a bit croaky from the shouting he had just been directing at his trainees.

"Yes Sir. I was calling to tell you that since our mission with MI6 we have been given a…new job."

"A new job? Explain."

"Do you remember Cub?" Snake asked and the Sergeant chuckled.

"Hard to forget that kid. Yes, I remember him. Why?"

"He was the agent we were told to retrieve", Snake said grimly.

"Ah shit. He wasn't too banged up was he?" The Sergeant sounded genuinely concerned about Cub and he was. That kid had been better than most of the people training there at the time and he had managed to earn his respect, a tough feat for many.

Not feeling up to explaining Cub's injuries, Snake just said "He's in the hospital right now. The thing is, we ended up offering to let him live with us while we recover. I know it's a bit sudden, it was pretty much a spur of the moment decision, but it's something we really can't back out of and we want to do it. Of course, we need your permission first."

The Sergeant was silent for a few moments. "I never liked Cub coming to train with us", he said seriously, "It wasn't right for a 14 year old boy to be trained with a bunch of grown men soldiers. It's even worse when he's being trained for a life as a spy. I'm fine with your decision; in fact, I whole heartedly approve it if it means he's away from those cold-hearted bastards. You will still have to meet with your new unit member at some point, but I can make it later than I was initially planning. Also, don't expect to get out of paperwork."

"I wouldn't expect it at all Sir" Snake said, pleased the Sergeant was okay with the idea. "Thank you."

"No problem Snake. Make sure Cub gets better. Keep me posted."

"I will; thanks again."

Snake hung up the phone and grinned at his friends. "He's fine with it. Even called MI6 cold-hearted bastards" The others snickered.

Now safe in the knowledge that their jobs weren't going to be in jeopardy, Eagle voiced the question they were all wondering, "What now?"

"Well, the hospital said they'd ring when Cub regained consciousness so we may as well get a room ready for him. I'm not sure how he's going to take the news he's living with us but we may as well try and make him feel as welcome as possible. God knows we sucked at that the first time round," Snake replied.

"You're right. He can have the guest room at the end of the hall," Fox said.

Eagle grinned. "It'll be just like old times," he crowed. "The whole group back together again!"

"You do realise those 'old times' you're talking about lasted barely 2 weeks," Wolf said dryly and Eagle shrugged as if to say 'who cares?'

The rest of the day was spent changing back into civilian clothes; they were still wearing the gear from the mission, and sorting out Cub's room. Fox and Eagle volunteered to go and collect Cub's belongings from his house which was only a twenty minute drive away. Mrs Jones had assured them was empty and that they were welcome to collect anything they thought Alex would want. This volunteering wasn't just an act of kindness however, Eagle was extremely nosy and Fox was curious to see if there was any evidence to suggest what happened in the house. He knew it had probably been professionally cleaned but that didn't mean there wasn't anything to find.

They drove to Cub's house and once getting up to the door, realised they had a problem. The door was locked and they hadn't thought of asking for a key.

"Blunt or Jones didn't happen to slip you a key did they?" Fox asked, cursing his forgetfulness.

Eagle gave him a look saying 'What do you think' and Fox sighed. He supposed it was best Eagle hadn't been given the key if they had been given it due to his tendency to lose things. Once they had been locked out of their cabin as Eagle had 'misplaced' the key whilst training. Getting in through the windows hadn't been an option as they'd locked them to preserve the heat on a cold night. What had seemed like such a good plan had forced Eagle to do a 'cub' as it had then been dubbed and get in the cabin via the chimney. Cub had made it look a lot easier, but then he was a lot smaller than Eagle who, though the smallest out of the four, was still a hell of a lot bulkier than a teenage boy. They never trusted Eagle with the key, or anything else, ever again.

"There's got to be a spare key around here somewhere. All houses have spare keys" Fox muttered, searching under the welcome mat which hid nothing.

The next five minutes were spent searching for a key they eventually had to admit didn't exist. It seemed Cub and his guardian had wanted to make sure no one unwanted could get inside easily. Obviously, it didn't work, but it had probably helped them sleep better at the time.

"Oh well. You're a spy, getting inside should be easy for you," Eagle commented, looking at Fox expectantly.

Fox was slightly embarrassed he hadn't just thought to use his expertise in the first place. Then again, he did try to avoid breaking the law if possible and he was pretty sure what he was about to do counted as breaking and entering, even if there was no one in the house and they technically had permission to enter. Hopefully, no one who saw them would call the police. Fox looked inside the rucksack he had brought and dug through it until he found what he wanted.

"Got it." Fox pulled out a small needle from his bag which Eagle looked at curiously.

"Please tell me that is some sort of gadget or I am going to be seriously underwhelmed."

Fox rolled his eyes. "It is, I had it from my mission and I liked it so 'forgot' to give it back. I think Smither's knew I'd kept it but couldn't be bothered to ask for it." He grinned and Eagle clapped him on the back.

"I knew I'd start rubbing off on you sooner or later! So, what does it do?"

"The metal has the ability to bend at the slightest touch but it will only do so when in a door lock. Apparently it's something to do with temperatures and pressure but I really didn't understand it when Smither's explained so please don't ask. Just watch."

Fox placed the needle into the lock and it bent easily to match the indentations within. In no time at all, the door was open. Eagle didn't look too impressed.

"So, it's basically just a fancy lock picker? I expected more from the big fancy MI6."

"It got us in didn't it?" Fox reasoned, putting the needle back into his bag. "This thing got me out of quite a few precarious situations so don't bad mouth it."

Instead of going straight upstairs, both men felt the need to have a little look around. They knew they were invading Cub's privacy, but the devils on their shoulders were being much more convincing than their consciences'. There was nothing unusual in the hallway so had something happened there, all evidence was gone. He went to go into the kitchen where he saw a dent in the framework of the door. Eagle told him he was going upstairs and Fox told him he'd be there in a minute. He carried on into the kitchen.

Nothing looked out of place initially however he spotted a stain on the floor, hidden beneath a cupboard. The dark brown colour of it suggested it couldn't be anything but blood and he frowned, wondering if it belonged to that guardian of Cub's. Fox also wondered that if that was his guardians, whether he'd been there to witness it. He felt a pang of sorrow for Cub if he had. No one should have to witness that sort of thing.

Resolving that he would talk about this with Cub when they were able to take him back to the flat (he would be surprised if the kid came out with no trauma at all), Fox went upstairs to find Eagle. There was only one door open and Fox went through that to see Eagle opening all of Cub's drawers looking more surprised with each draw he opened. He wasn't sure why as Cub's room looked like any teenage boys would. Blue themed with a few Chelsea football posters stuck by the bed.

"What's wrong?" Fox asked.

"It's... it's tidy!"

Fox scoffed. "Just because you seem to make it look like a tornado's hit your room all the time doesn't mean everyone else's has to look that way."

Eagle huffed but continued. "How many teenage boys room have you seen that looks this tidy and so…I don't know, boring?"

Now Eagle mentioned it, the room did look like it was…lacking something. Other than the posters, it seemed that Cub hadn't bothered to make the room his own, as if it was a hotel room that he had to tidy before he left. There was nothing to suggest what Cub was like, other than he liked Chelsea, the colour blue and being tidy. It was a bit strange and Fox wondered just how much time Cub had been spending in his home in the recently and whether his 'part time job' had something to do with it.

"Well…maybe that's just how Cub likes it, and I don't want to know how you know what teenage boys room's look like these days," Fox said, not wanting to stay any longer than necessary anymore. "Let's just get his stuff and go."

* * *

"Do you think he'll like it?

"I don't see why not. It looks just fine"

Upon returning from Cub's house, the group began to preparing his room even though they weren't sure how long it would be before he was actually able to see it. Wolf even had fun designing the room though he'd never admit to it; Eagle could voice it for the both of them.

The room itself had simple light green wallpaper with an emerald carpet and striped green bed covers. It clashed a bit with the posters Wolf had been adamant had to be placed in certain positions around the room, but no one though Cub would mind. They had moved the furniture around a bit so it had a similar layout to Cub's old room. It was a bit smaller, and there had been a lot of dust to clean due to its disuse, but now it was perfectly liveable. They'd even added a few pictures that Fox and Eagle had found in the house so he would feel more comfortable. They mostly contained Cub with a red headed woman that they assumed must have been his guardian and on the back it said her name was Jack. There was also another picture of a very young Cub with a man they didn't recognise. The back of the picture said his name was Ian but that it wasn't helpful. Perhaps he was Cub's Uncle?

The hospital still had yet to ring them and so they finished the room and turned in for the night. It had been a long day and they were sure another was to follow.

* * *

For a while, Alex had been so drugged up that the nightmares had stopped plaguing him. He should have known that the peace wouldn't have lasted. This time he was with a different man, the very man who had 'welcomed' him upon his arrival and had overseen most of his captivity so far. He'd hoped he would never have to see this face again, even in his memories. Of course, his mind never did what he wanted it to.

"_It really isn't too much to ask Alex. Just tell me, what is the password?" _

_The interrogation had started when the man decided that meaningless torture was starting to lose his appeal. Why just torture him when the kid probably held valuable information? The issue was that once the man got it into his head that Alex probably had been told a lot of information, the torture got worse and Alex truly had no answers. This didn't matter to the man though; he just thought Alex was lying to him and it made him more frustrated. _

_Right then, he wanted the password to MI6's computer files and Alex had to wonder when the man thought he'd have been told that. He doubted any field agents knew that. Alex had a feeling the man was delusional and literally insane. _

"_I've already told you. I don't know" Alex shouted. His lungs constricted painfully and his throat begged for water. _

"_I hardly believe they would keep such information from their best agent. Why do you insist on lying to me?" His interrogator picked up a surgical scalpel and wiped it with the edge of his shirt. _

"_I'm not lying. They didn't tell me anything. They don't trust me with that sort of thing," Alex insisted, eying the sharp tool warily. _

"_Well, let's see how this makes you re-evaluate your answer."_

_The man came closer and closer, and Alex, bound tightly to a chair, could do nothing to stop him. The glint of the scalpel became brighter as it was lifted up to his skin…_

Alex woke before the climax of the memory could happen and he sighed in relief, noticing that he wasn't in the cell any more, but a hospital. He had vague memories of people rescuing him but the drugs he was being fed clouded his mind and immediately started sending him back to sleep again. He tried to fight it but it was inevitable. Alex returned back to his nightmares.


	4. Chapter 4

_Here's where things start to become a bit more different to the original._

* * *

"We'd like to visit Alex Rider please."

It was the next morning and they had been called informing them that Alex woke for the first time that night. He was now waking up every few hours or so as they slowly weaned him of the strong medication. They'd left as soon as they'd got the call and now found themselves in front of one of the sternest receptionists they'd ever met and that included those working in MI6.

"I'm afraid I can only allow family to visit," She told them briskly, waiting for them to leave her in peace.

"We're his uncles!" Eagle said cheerfully. "I'm his favourite Uncle Derek!" He gave her a conspiratorial wink.

Wolf rubbed the bridge of his nose and the receptionist looked unimpressed and sceptical.

"I can hardly see how you can all be his Uncle's seeing as you all appear to be of different nationalities."

"Our family is very large and fond of travelling. I am adopted, as is he," Wolf replied, gesturing to Snake.

Fox nodded. "Please, we're all just very worried about our nephew. We heard he was in an accident but we don't know all of the details." He gazed at her sincerely and made his tone very earnest, hoping to gain some sympathy from her.

The receptionist eyed them critically before relenting and accepting the answer. It was too much of a bother to fight them over it, especially as they did look genuinely concerned. Her pay wasn't good enough to make an issue out of it.

"Alright, you may go through but you will have to wait until his other visitor has come out before you go inside and even then, only two of you at a time. I'm surprised it's taken you so long to visit the number of times I've seen that boy in this hospital. Usually it's just that red headed woman." She gave them another suspicious look, but made no other comment to which they were grateful.

Concerned to hear that it appeared Cub was a regular at the hospital but willing to think about it later, Fox said; "The travelling bug was passed onto us so it's rare that we're ever in the country." He was also a bit curious as to whom this other visitor was. He supposed it could have been one of his friends but it was a school day and he doubted they would have known he was there.

The receptionist made a non-committal noise, signalling she would really like to get back to work and Fox let her be. They all looked interested at mention of another visitor. Just about to head over to Cub's room they suddenly heard a piercing shriek. The receptionist startled and frowned in the direction of the noise.

"It's coming from the intensive care unit; where Mister Rider is."

That was all they needed to hear before they took off running towards the sound of the shout. Around them people were getting out to see what was going on and they pushed past them.

'_This kid really can't catch a break can he?" _Wolf thought grimly, 99.9% sure this was something to do with Cub.

They reached the ICU and lying on the floor was an unconscious woman. She looked unharmed though so Wolf assumed she had fainted. It was obviously her who'd shrieked and Wolf saw why. Outside of Cub's room were two guards, very dead with a bullet wound in their heads. _'Must have been done with a silencer'_

Ignoring the two bodies blocking the door, they opened it and stepped inside. They were not met with a good sight. A man was standing by the window, about to jump, with Cub thrown over his shoulder. Wolf supposed he should be grateful Cub was unconscious otherwise he would be in a large amount of pain. Small mercies and all that.

At the noise of the men charging in, the stranger turned his head which gave Wolf all the time he needed to leap forward and punch the kidnapper in the face. He right hooked him again when he failed to loosen his grip and then grabbed Cub before the man could fall and hurt him. Snake then came up from behind and grabbed the kidnapper by the shirt and crushed him against the wall, allowing Wolf the chance to place Cub back in his bed. The kidnapper fought back, trying to smash his head back into Snake's but Eagle stopped that by tightly grabbing his hair. Fox came up last and pressed his face close to the man's, glaring at him. The kidnapper glared back but he didn't look worried in the slightest.

"Who are you and who do you work for?" Fox demanded.

Instead of giving an answer, the kidnapper just smirked. Fox was about to ask again when the man's eyes suddenly rolled back into his head and he went limp. Fox quickly checked his pulse and moved back in shock.

"Shit!" The sudden increase of weight made Snake drop the man on the floor.

"Did he just die?" Eagle asked, mouth open.

Snake nodded, equally stunned.

"How…?"

Fox grimaced. "My guess would be cyanide pill in the tooth. It must have been there so that there was no chance for capture and interrogation which makes me think that whoever he works for has some pretty big secrets. Though, if this is the best they've got then hopefully they won't be too much trouble if they try again."

"We should be glad they didn't send any better," Wolf spoke from beside Cub. "Otherwise, we may not have been here in time." And they would have failed their job without even properly starting it.

Now that they were no longer in immediate danger, they were able to get a good look at the man. He was wearing fairly average clothes and looked like nothing ordinary. He was the perfect person to sneak in. Eagle checked his jacket and found a holster inside that held the gun he'd used to kill the guards stationed outside. They were lucky that none of them had been shot with it.

"We need to tell you know who about this, maybe they will be able to identify the body" Fox said, making sure not to name MI6 in case anyone was listening. "We need to get this body out of here though, I don't think it'll do any good for Cub to wake up and see it."

"You…you can put it in a spare room. There's one nearby," The previously unconscious nurse peered around the edge of the door. Her face was ashen but she looked relieved and just a little bit awestruck. Never before had something like this happened and she was slightly amazed at the situation.

Fox smiled at her gratefully. "That would be great, thank you."

Snake lifted the body. "You go call you know who; I'll get this guy moved. You should also get a Doctor to check Cub over. We don't know if he did anything to him and he needs his tubes put back in unless we want him to wake up in pain."

The nurse went to get a Doctor and when people tried to pester her for answers, she answered 'Classified' just as Fox told her to. It made her feel quite like a spy and she couldn't help the slight smile as she did it, even if the circumstances weren't the best and she may need some therapy.

Back in the ICU room, Wolf checked over Cub, doing what he could until a Doctor arrived, which really wasn't much. He looked better than he did when they'd rescued him, though by not much. His face had a bit more colour in it but there were now little drops of blood on his arms where the wires had been pulled out. The colour was also fading as the supply of whatever had been easing his pain hadn't been doing so for too long and Wolf didn't trust himself to try and put them in on his own.

The doctor barged in moments later, a face like thunder and they all stepped back to let him look at Cub. They were a bit scared of what he would do if they didn't since the man looked close to exploding. The doctor took one glance at Cub and immediately ordered K-Unit out. No one even uttered the word 'but'.

Ten minutes later the doctor came out, looking weary but pleased.

"Is he alright?" Wolf asked. The three men had stayed outside the room on the spare chairs, ignoring the inquisitive looks they were getting. The whole fight had not gone unnoticed by anyone. One foolishly brave nurse had tried to ask what had happened and Wolf had dismissed her bluntly with a growled 'classified'. No one had dared ask again. Snake, who had come back five minutes after they'd been sent out, was standing and had watched the Doctor carry out his work.

"Thankfully he's no worse. We managed to reattach the tubes in good time and they're already working."

A mass sigh of relief was exhaled.

"So what _is _wrong with him?" Snake asked.

"May I ask who you are first?"

"His uncles"

The doctor gave a brief unconvinced frown but didn't question them like the nurse had. He felt their actions for the boy justified an answer. "Ok, first, I'm Doctor Wells. I'm Alex's full time doctor. I must say, when he was first brought in here I thought he would need surgery but fortunately that wasn't the case. His pulse was dangerously slow due to malnourishment but that was sorted out quickly with a drip and he has had a blood transfusion to counter the blood loss he's suffered. We had to stitch a large laceration in his stomach and that was most likely the major cause of the blood loss."

"He has some second degree burns on his shoulder and chest but we're hopeful that they won't scar, however that's not a guarantee. Three of his ribs are broken and they have been bandaged and should heal in a few weeks. The most concerning thing was an injury to the back of his head, blunt head trauma, and it is why he is currently unable stay conscious for long amounts of time. Initially I was worried about a brain haemorrhage, blood leaking into the brain, but luckily that isn't a problem. He'll be in quite a bit of pain for a while but he should make a full recovery. Now, I don't want to know why he was like this as I don't think I'll like the answer but that boy has had a very rough time and I will make sure he recovers as quickly as possible. From now on no visitors will be allowed in the room. Except you four seeing as you're like that boy's guardian angels."

Wolf agreed and added. "We'll make sure one of us is always on watch at all times."

The doctor nodded and said "Alright then. I'll make sure the staff knows not to bother you. I'll leave you for now and be back to check on Alex later. If he happens to wake up before then let me know. The button to call me is right next to him."

Satisfied that his patient was fine and well looked after, Doctor Wells left and Wolf turned to his team.

"We'll have a rotor with four hour shifts. We can't let anyone get to Cub like that again. Who wants to go first?"

Fox put up a hand. "I will. Are you guys going to leave now or will you stay for a bit?"

The others ended up staying for about an hour due to an expected increase in protectiveness but the novelty of being in a hospital with an unconscious teenager soon wore off. They discussed the kidnapper and decided that perhaps he was a warning, a warning that the people who took Alex weren't done with him yet. Why they would do that, they had no idea, but they doubted they would send someone incompetent if they really wanted him back. There was the chance that the people in general weren't that dangerous, but Fox had a feeling Cub had probably made some very dangerous enemies if his capture were any example.

Eventually, Fox was left alone with Cub and he drew up a chair so he sat beside him. He stared at the bruised and battered boy beside him and placed a hand over his lifeless one, offering comfort the only way he knew how.

* * *

Alex was getting used to the dark now, having been in it for so long. It seemed every time he became conscious, he was thrust back into the darkness seconds later. Sometimes he would be in the in-between stage where his body wanted to wake but the drugs were making it impossible. It was times like those that he would hear people talking. Most of the time it was a doctor who liked to speak out loud; or a nurse who hummed whilst she worked. At one point he swore he could have heard others, familiar in a way he just couldn't place. He liked these times because it meant he wasn't having nightmares. It was just a shame it couldn't last.

"_Alex, do you know who this is?"_

_Alex tiredly lifted his head towards the picture his captor was holding. He wished he knew his name as calling him 'his captor' was becoming very tedious. He had just recently come from playing punch bag to one of the largest men he'd ever had the displeasure of seeing. Perfect for giving the largest bruises. _

_Alex recognised the person in the picture immediately. _

_Sabina._

"_Ah, I see we do. Pretty little thing isn't she? Oh how I would love to see if she stays that pretty after the things we could do."_

_Frustration flared inside him at what he was suggesting. He couldn't let them hurt Sabina but what could he do? Once again he was bound to a chair at their mercy, unable to do a single thing to help as usual…_

"_She hasn't done anything wrong! Leave her alone."_

_"Oh, but isn't that how it always is? How many people have got hurt from knowing you?"_

_Alex gulped, Jack. Oh god… no, he couldn't think about that now, he couldn't show any weakness. He ignored the fact he was already showing vulnerability over Sabina. _

"_If you just tell us some little things we may be gracious enough to leave her alone. Do you think you can do that?" His voice was patronising and made Alex want to scream. _

_Still they were on about the information he didn't have, just to make his last moments as long and hellish as possible._

"_How many times do I have to tell you before it gets into your thick skull? I. Don't. Know. Anything," Alex spat out._

_This time it wasn't a scalpel, but a knife. _

"_Oh well, maybe next time."_

_The knife touched his skin, getting deeper and deeper on his stomach as it moved. He cried out but it carried on its journey, a never-ending one that caused so much pain…_

* * *

_Thank you for all the reviews, favourites and follows! They really do make my day. _


	5. Chapter 5

_Looking back at the original chapter, I feel like it would be more impressive to spot the similarities rather than the differences._

* * *

Alex woke up feeling pain free but also like he'd run a marathon the way his body felt so weak. He already knew that this was different to the previous times he'd woken up. His head felt less groggy and he as more aware of his surroundings. He also didn't feel like he was about to fall asleep again. The sound of shuffling made his ears perk and his eyes widened when he realised who was sitting next to him.

"Fox?" His voice was slurred and rough, but he managed to make himself heard.

From beside him, Fox jerked. It had been three hours since K-Unit had left and he'd finally found something to do in the form of a newspaper. He honestly hadn't expected Cub to wake up yet but he found himself smiling at him happily.

"Hey Cub, how're you feeling?"

Alex eyed Fox wearily. "Tired…and very confused" He had absolutely no idea what one of his former team mate was doing in his hospital room. He hadn't seen the man since Brecon Beacons so what was he doing here? Maybe he was hallucinating, that seemed the most likely explanation. Though why he would hallucinate Fox of all people was beyond him.

"Understandable. I'll explain things best I can but first I need to get your doctor in here" Fox said.

Alex watched as Fox pressed a small button. "Water?" He asked. His voice was dry from lack of use. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to have a drink. His captors weren't the most hospitable. Alex flinched at the thought of his captivity and tried to ignore the memories as he accepted a cup from Fox who was pretty much definitely not a hallucination.

"Drink slowly," Fox recommended as Alex started gulping it down. It wasn't doing his stomach any favours and he ended up doing as Fox suggested. The doctor came in just as he was finishing off and looked at Fox approvingly. He introduced himself and asked Alex the mandatory questions all doctor's asked, 'how are you feeling', 'are you in any pain', 'can you tell me the date' and by the end of it the doctor looked very pleased.

"Well Alex, I think you're going to recover very well. There's nothing that concerns us and I think you should be able to go home fairly soon," At the mention of home Alex's stomach churned. He didn't have a home anymore. There was no way he'd be allowed to live alone. What was going to happen to him? Were MI6 now his guardians? His breath started to come out in short; ragged bursts and his hands clenched his bed sheets tightly as the anxiety set in.

Fox noticed that Alex was becoming panicked and internally cursed the doctor for inadvertently bringing it on. The doctor himself became aware of what he'd done and was ready to anaesthetise Alex if he didn't calm down soon. It wasn't doing him any good.

"Cub…Alex look at me," At the mention of both his names, Alex turned to look at Fox, his eyes wide and glazed over.

"I know your guardian…Jack…is dead but don't worry. You are _not _going to be sent back to MI6. There have been other arrangements made and I will explain them to you if you calm down, okay? Can you do that? Breath with me, that's right. In, 1,2,3 and out, 1,2,3." Fox did that a few times before Alex finally calmed. He wasn't sure if what he'd said was the right thing, but by the way Alex was feeling better, he assumed he wasn't far off.

Doctor Wells looked at Fox gratefully and told Alex he'd be back to check on him later. Alex only nodded and stared at the ceiling, thoroughly worn out but not willing to fall asleep again. He didn't want to return to the nightmares just yet, especially not when he had about a million and one questions to ask. He started off with the one he'd wanted to ask since he woke up.

"So, why are you here?" Alex asked.

Fortunately, Fox had had quite a lot of time to think about how he'd answer Alex's questions.

"I along with the others in K-Unit was the ones who rescued you. We weren't told it was you at the time, safe to say that we were shocked when we realised."

Alex gave a soft snort. They probably thought he'd gone back to his rich daddy. Well, except for Wolf of course, but then they didn't really have time to chat before.

"Oh, that's right. I'm just going to text them to say you've woken up," Fox brought out his phone and Alex said "Should you have that in here?"

Fox shrugged. "Probably not but well, it's not killing you so I'm going to use it. Screw health rules."

Alex snorted in amusement and Fox hid a smile. So far so good.

His texts were quickly responded with ones from the others telling him they were on their way and Fox anticipated they'd be there in about twenty minutes which was convenient. He wanted a little bit of time to explain the situation to Alex before he was overwhelmed by the others. It was strange, thinking of Cub as Alex now, but he'd decided that it was probably best as Alex may not want to be thought of as Cub at all.

"You said that there were other arrangements…what are they?" Alex asked; his tone was cautious, as he was expecting the news to be bad. At least he knew that he wasn't going to be locked up by MI6, he trusted Fox not to lie about that.

"After much debating and consideration," Lie. "We decided that it would be best if you came to live with me and the rest of the Unit." Fox waited with anticipation for Alex's response.

Alex just stared at him blankly. He was waiting for the moment Fox told him he was kidding but it never came. He couldn't believe it.

"But you hate me," He stated it as if it were a well-known fact and Fox winced. He couldn't blame Alex for thinking that, not really.

"None of us hate you. I know you might think that but we would not do this for someone we hated. I'll admit we were a bit quick with our judgements on you but we've had time to reflect on that and realise how wrong we were. Wolf also told us how you earned his respect on that mission you two had together. When we saw you in that cell…damn Alex, no kid should be in that position. Seeing that sort of thing shakes up your perspectives. We were dicks to you at Brecon Beacons, I'm not going to lie, but I promise that when you come to live with us things won't be like that. We're not normally like that and we want you to recover, not go mad."

Alex still looked doubtful. No one had a change of heart so quickly and offered that sort of thing to a practical stranger. He narrowed his eyes at Fox. "Nice speech. You keep saying when. What if I decide not to come with you?" He was tired of adults forcing their decisions onto him, it never ended well. For him or them.

Fox shrugged, expecting this. "It's totally up to you whether you decide to come or not. Honestly, I wouldn't blame you if you said no. But if you do say no then you will be under custody of MI6 and I'm not sure what would happen to you."

Alex found Fox was beginning to earn Alex's respect slightly. He was a lot different to how he had acted at Brecon Beacons, but in a good way. He was more honest than most of the other adults Alex had been in contact with in a while, and he didn't sugar coat anything. However, how honest he was being about Alex actually living with him and the others in K-Unit, he was still suspicious about.

"Also, if you do say no I think Eagle will be really disappointed. He spent a lot of time preparing your room and he can't wait to see your reaction." Fox gave a grin and Alex looked at him dubiously, finding it hard to relate that statement to the man he'd met whilst training.

"So, if I stay with you then I won't have any contact with MI6 at all?" Alex asked, after a few moments of silent debating. He'd come to the decision that he wanted to be out of under MI6's thumb more than anything and if staying with K-Unit would do that, then it was definitely worth considering.

Fox rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't say for certain you won't have any contact with them but you aren't going on another mission if we can help it. I doubt Blunt would force you whilst you're recovering anyway."

Alex accepted that answer as he hadn't expected much different. Frankly, he was surprised that he was even being given the option to stay with them. How they managed to get Blunt to agree was a mystery to him.

"I still don't get why you're doing it," Alex admitted. "Is it out of pity?" If it was, Alex felt like he would refuse out of principle, even if the alternative was worse. He wouldn't be able to stand living with them if it was the case.

Before Fox could answer, the rest of K-Unit barged into the room, ignoring the two people in the room at a time rule.

"You're awake!" Eagle cried happily as he grinned at the teen. Alex stared back at him sceptically. This man really did in no way resemble the person he'd met at Brecon Beacons.

Wolf saw the look Alex was giving Eagle and slapped him on the side of the head. "Chill out Eagle. Don't want to frighten the kid before we'd had a chance to talk." That earned him a glare.

"I'm not frightened and I'm not a kid." The last part was said with such cold seriousness that Wolf let it lie. That thought was an issue they could deal with another day.

"So Alex, has Fox explained the situation to you yet?" Snake asked, diffusing the tension that had sprung up in the room.

"Sort of," Alex replied. "I just don't understand why you guys want me to live with you. I barely know you and you made your feelings about me pretty clear at Brecon Beacons. I know you talked about misunderstanding,' he hurriedly added when Ben looked like he was about to interrupt, 'but I still don't get it. What do you get out of it?"

"Alex" Snake started slowly. "We don't expect anything out of it. Think of it as our way of saying sorry for how we treated you before.' He cut Alex off by lifting his hand. "That's not it though, we think the way you have been treated by Blunt is not right and we do not want to let that man have any more power over you than he already has. I'll admit, it may not be the ideal situation for anyone but we're more than willing to give it a go if you are."

"So basically this is a 'screw you' to Blunt." Alex knew he was making this difficult for them, but he felt it was justified. He wanted to see how serious they were about their proposition.

Snake sighed exasperatedly. Convincing Alex was harder than he thought it would be.

"It's not just that," Fox carried on from Snake. "We want to help you Alex. No one should be put through the things you have, especially by force. I doubt you were given much choice in the matter". He looked at Alex quizzically and when the teen just shrugged, carried on. "We'll be able to protect you while you're recovering. I doubt you could be safer than living with 3 SAS soldiers and an MI6 agent."

Alex startled. "Wait, what? Who's an MI6 agent?" He looked at Wolf, thinking he was the most logical person, but the man shook his head.

"I am," Fox replied and Alex looked at him as if he'd grown two heads.

"Why?"

"I found my talents were better suited to MI6. Though I'll admit the job isn't all it's cracked up to be. Boss is kind of a jerk."

Alex gave a small smile at that, his first since waking, which Fox counted as an achievement.

"Yeah, especially after want happened we'll make sure it can't happen again." Eagle said before his eyes widened. "Oh shit, wasn't supposed to say that."

Wolf groaned whilst Fox muttered "Language."

Alex regarded them all suspiciously. "What incident?"

"It's nothing really" Fox assured Alex whilst Eagle was being scowled at by Wolf and Snake. "There was a man in your room who wasn't authorised to be in there but it's all been dealt with."

"Sure it has," Alex muttered, too quietly for anyone to hear. Of course they didn't deem him good enough to be told. Why would they? No one else did. Not until it was his life in danger and him running for his life. Noting that they were all looking at him uncomfortably, he changed the topic.

"What will happen after I'm better?"

That was the question they'd all avoided trying to think about because the truth was, they didn't know. They all had jobs they had to get back to. They couldn't raise a teenager full time and who even knew if they'd be good at it part time?

"I don't know," Fox answered honestly.

Alex considered that. MI6 was unpredictable just like the lifestyle its workers had. Even if Fox could give him an answer, chances are it wouldn't go as planned so it probably was best to not expect anything.

"Soo…what do you say?" Eagle asked and gave a winning smile.

Alex thought about it for a moment. It wasn't ideal, then again ideal would require Jack being alive and that was never going to happen, but it was his best option available. The Unit really didn't seem to be the same as they were at Brecon Beacons, and he knew Wolf thought of him differently anyway since Point Blanc so maybe they could make it work. He wasn't sure he liked them yet, and he had no idea what life with them would actually be like, but anything was better than living life under order from Blunt. Truthfully, it was his only viable option, and it was with that thought that he sealed his future by answering.

"Ok"

* * *

_As always, thank you for the reviews, favourites and follows! Let me know if you prefer this more serious take on One Big Happy Family. _


	6. Chapter 6

The next couple of days consisted mainly of Alex being asleep. The knowledge that he had people watching over him that he knew and marginally trusted managed to curb some of the nightmares so his sleep was more peaceful than it had been in a while. The bad thing was that they had slowly started cutting off his morphine supply so the pain from his various injuries was slowly trickling back in.

Seeing as most of his time with K-Unit he was unconscious, Alex didn't really get much of a chance to know the people he would be living with for the foreseeable future. All he'd been able to gather about them whilst he was awake was that Fox had an unhealthy habit with crosswords, Snake liked medical journals, Wolf was content to brood and Eagle loved video games. So far, Alex's favourite person to wake up to was Eagle as the man would often let him have a go at playing.

However, just because the frequency of the nightmares may have lessened, that didn't stop them completely and they were no less terrifying. After the second night, his mind had decided it was done with playing nice and made up for lost time. This didn't go unnoticed by K-Unit. The first time it had happened was with Wolf. At first it had just been agitated movement, then Alex began groaning and not soon after he was thrashing, nearly removing his wires in the process. It was much more physical than any of his previous nightmares had ever caused him to be.

Wolf had initially considered waking Alex, but he stopped himself. Not only would it make Alex uncomfortable, having someone see him so vulnerable, but Wolf wouldn't know what to say when he woke. It was with this knowledge that Wolf offered comfort the only way he could think. Waiting until Alex was on his side, he placed a hand on the teens back and rubbed it gently whilst making soothing noises. Amazingly, in mere seconds, Alex's groans ceased and his body relaxed making Wolf grin. It was something his mother had done for him when he was a child and it was good to know it helped Alex too. Idly, Wolf wondered if someone had ever done this for Alex when he was younger. He made a mental note to tell the others of this method if Alex ever had a nightmare in their presence, even if Eagle was more likely to slap him and wake him up rather than sooth him.

A day after the back-rubbing discovery, which Fox had found useful to apply, Doctor Wells finally deemed Alex ready to leave that afternoon.

"There have been no complications and everything looks like it's on the road to recovery. All that's needed is the medication I've given you, time and relaxation. I mean it; I don't want you exerting yourself at all." Alex just gave a smile that didn't promise anything in response. Doctor Well's sighed and carried on, directing his speech to the adults. "I recommend changing the bandages every day for about four days and after that every two. I believe you know what to do?" He asked Snake who nodded.

"I'll make sure it happens."

"Good. Now, I think that's about it?"

"What about school?" Alex really didn't need to miss anymore school than he already had. At this point it would be a miracle if he didn't need to repeat the year. Then again, he wouldn't put it past MI6 to take him out of school permanently.

Doctor Wells thought about it and sighed. The boy really looked like he wanted to go back, unlike most of the other teenagers he treated. Usually he would suggest at least two weeks or so off, but Alex looked tough and he didn't think he'd accept two weeks as an answer.

"It's a Tuesday so I suggest taking the rest of the week off. Then you can go back and even then you are not to do P.E. We don't want you aggravating anything and slowing down your recovery. Also, should you feel at all ill I don't want you to suffer in silence, you ask your school nurse to leave. I want your body under no unnecessary strain at all. "

Alex mentally groaned. P.E was the only subject that he could actually excel in thanks to his…special training…

"Cub….Alex?"

Alex's jumped a little and looked at Wolf. "Doctor said we could go."

"Oh." Alex needed to work on his alertness, he was getting sloppy.

They walked outside the hospital entrance, Alex was grateful he wasn't forced into a wheelchair like Eagle wanted, and Alex was pleasantly surprised to see their form of transport was a silver Highlander. Wolf took the wheel with Fox next to him. That left Alex to be squashed between the burly Snake and Eagle. It had been a lot easier to fit them when Alex was lying across them, not that Alex knew that.

Alex hissed as he pulled the seatbelt over his chest, ignoring the concerned stare Snake gave him. He'd learnt to handle pain long ago, this wasn't nearly as bad as he has been and it wasn't worth the look Snake was giving him. It was already feeling better anyway, as long as the seatbelt stayed put and didn't move. Now he just had to look forward to the uncomfortably hot drive ahead of him.

The twelve minute drive to the flat was at the very least, extremely awkward. There wasn't anything to say really; except that Alex was seriously glad the car had air conditioning. It was only nearing the end of spring but two guys and a teenager squished side by side in a car made for way too much body heat than desired.

Thankfully the car slowed down and turned into a car park. Not soon after Alex was able to feel the nice cool breeze against his heated skin. The burns in particular had become unpleasantly warm.

Wolf locked the car and led them up to the front door that had access to many different flats on different levels. It looked to be a fairly modern building with not a lot of wear and a couple of the flats even had balconies. He wondered if the flat he would be staying in had a balcony.

They all crammed into the elevator, Alex once again squished and suddenly hating the rule that all men in the army were required to have muscles, and they stopped at level 4. Alex memorised this for this was his new accommodation and it wouldn't do to get lost. He also memorised the number 65 and it was then he got his first look at his new home.

It was fairly big flat, with the kitchen and lounge being mixed together and two corridors on either side. The living area had a cream theme and the wood was all a light shade of brown. Near the entrance Alex spied a toilet and he assumed there were more in each corridor. At least, he hoped there were and that his room was near one. He didn't fancy any of them seeing him in his towel and especially not seeing his bullet wound.

"Your room is in that corridor there and it's the last one on the right, opposite the bathroom." Fox said, pointing to the corridor on the right.

Alex nodded and took a step forward when he noticed he was being watched. He'd always known when it was happening and he hated it. When he looked back, he noticed with some amusement, that they all quickly looked away and pretended to be settling in. Eagle even started whistling an awful tune.

Pleased to see that at they weren't watching him anymore, Alex found the door to his room and opened it. His first impression was that it was nice, only a big smaller than his previous room, but then he noticed that all of his stuff was in it. That meant that someone had been into his house and he bet it was K-Unit. MI6 wouldn't bother. Anger flared at the thought they had been snooping in his house, his _home. _What if they'd been in Jack's room?

Jack. Ever since she'd died Alex had tried to keep his thoughts away from his dead guardian but now he found he couldn't. Finally in a safe environment, all the grief he felt at her death welled up and consumed him. He practically fell onto his bed as a flash back of that day invaded his mind.

_Over-all, it had been a pretty good day for Alex. He'd managed to pass his maths test despite not having a lot of the material and his coach had given him one last chance and allowed him back onto the football team. Even the rumours had begun to die down, with the exception of the idiots who would never let go of it in a million years. This was why he was even more surprised when it all went to shit. _

_Firstly, his shout of "Jack, I'm home" never got an answer. Jack never failed to respond. Secondly, there were drips of blood splattered on the floor and leading into the kitchen. Someone had hurt Jack. Of course, she may have hurt them, she was vicious with a frying pan, but why wasn't she replying if she had? _

_Bracing himself, Alex made his way to the kitchen. He opened the door and…_

No! He couldn't think of that. What's done is done and nothing can change it. Jack was dead and that was it. She was never coming back. She'd left him just like everyone else in his life did…

Tears threatened to fall but Alex rubbed them away before they could properly form. He couldn't cry. He wouldn't. He would be strong for Jack, not weak. With a small sniff betraying him, Alex looked up to see Wolf and Snake at the doorway looking a bit uncomfortable. It was a testament to how distracted he was that he didn't even hear them come.

"We were just wondering what you wanted for dinner. We'll be eating around six," Wolf said, looking like he was thinking about asking what was wrong. He didn't though, and in that moment he became Alex's favourite person. "We were thinking about Indian as a sort of welcome celebration."

Alex closed his eyes, removing any water that was left behind, and shrugged.

"Indian's fine."

"Ok, uh, good. Any preference?" Alex had to give Wolf credit for attempting to pretend nothing was wrong, but he was not great at it.

"I'm good with anything. I'm fine with spice." Alex was deliberately keeping his answers short and to the point in the hope they'd go away. He just wanted some time alone.

"Alright then," Snake started to leave but Wolf lingered. "You know that you can talk to us about anything right? It's no problem."

There went pretending he hadn't seen a thing. Alex appreciated the sentiment, honestly, but the moment he starts confiding in these people is the day pigs fly.

"Ok. I think I'm going to take a nap now. Journey kind of wore me out."

Wolf looked like he wanted to press the issue a bit more but the bags under Alex's eyes stopped him.

"Right, we'll wake you when dinner gets here. If you need anything…well, this is your home too." Wolf left and Alex slumped backwards on his bed in relief. It was all nice and good to say this was his home but for how long would that be? And anyway, it wasn't a home if Jack wasn't there.

* * *

"…then he said he was just going to take a nap," Wolf finished after explaining what he and Snake had seen. They had initially gone to see Alex's reaction about his new room and then ask him about dinner until it became obvious something was wrong which was unsurprising, really.

"It'll probably take him some time to get used to living here, we are practically strangers to him after all and we don't exactly know his life story. He's bound to have some issues. Everyone does in this business," Fox said with a resigned smile.

"I wish he would just talk to us about it. He'd probably feel better once he had," Eagle sighed. Talking was the way he was able to deal with everything he did in his line of work. He was one of the few people who actually didn't mind going to his therapist when it became necessary.

Wolf raised an eyebrow. "You would be the last person I chose to be my therapist," he said and Eagle stuck his tongue out.

"Well, maybe there is a way we can make him feel more comfortable," Eagle said, trailing off as he became lost in thought.

They woke Alex an hour and a half later and it was safe to say they would never wake Alex up in the same way again. He was still asleep when Snake knocked and entered and the man frowned at the state of the bed sheets. They were twisted around Alex as if he had been thrashing from his dreams, which he probably had been. Snake resolved to himself that he would try and find a way to stop this soon. First, he had to wake the teenager.

Snake brought a hand to Alex's hand to wake him but just as he'd made contact a hand grasped his wrist and twisted it, causing him to gasp. For such an unassuming teenager, he had a _very_ strong grip. Fortunately, his own bulk and Alex's weakness from his injuries meant it wasn't twisted but damn it hurt like hell.

It didn't take long for Alex to come to awareness and when he realised what he'd done, he released Snake's wrist and flinched away.

"Uh, sorry." He muttered, trying to hide the shame on his face.

Snake refrained from rubbing his wrist, knowing it would only make Alex feel worse. He gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it. I'll just be more careful the next time." He was confused at this sudden behaviour since they'd been able to calm him down with touch in the hospital however he reasoned that may have possibly been due to the medication. Now out of the hospital, Alex would probably be more on guard, even in his sleep.

That didn't make Alex feel any better and so Snake changed topics. "Dinner's here, so come in when you're ready."

Alex just nodded and Snake left him to get ready. Alex couldn't believe what he'd done. He knew he had issues but he didn't need to display them like that! Snake was probably going to tell them all and they'd probably look at him all with pity. Oh, look at the poor kid, can't deal with his nightmares. Either that or they'd think he was mental. Which was possibly true.

Knowing that every moment he spent in his room gave them more chance to discuss him, Alex left to get his dinner. He was pretty hungry after all; hospital food wasn't anything to rave about.

He entered the living area and was greeted with the delicious aroma of curry. He wouldn't tell them, but Jack always treated him with a take-away after he'd landed in hospital from one of his missions and one of his favourites was when they had Indian. This time the memories of Jack made him smile.

"Hey Cub…Alex," Wolf greeted as he set out the food on the table.

"Why do you do that?" Alex asked as he sat down.

"Do what?"

"Call me Cub but then also say Alex." It was something he'd wanted to bring up since he'd noticed it in hospital but he kept forgetting.

"Force of habit I guess. It's why we still call each other our code-names even when off duty. Even Fox who technically isn't even Fox anymore. Which do you prefer?"

Alex shrugged. "Well, Alex _is _my name but I don't really mind being called Cub. I mean, I call you all by your codenames, I don't know your actual names."

"He has a point" Fox said as they all sat down to grab their food.

"I suppose it would be fine to tell you them," Snake considered. "I'm John Gray."

"Ben Daniels," Fox said, raising a hand.

"I'm Derek Young!" Eagle offered. Alex thought that was very fitting, not that he said it out loud.

"And I'm James Lobezno," Wolf finished.

"Young Wolf?" Alex said, faintly surprised.

"You speak Spanish?" Wolf asked, also in mild shock.

"Since I was small. Mi tío me hizo aprender un par de idiomas. ¿Qué hay de ti," Alex ended off in Spanish, enjoying the baffled looks on the others faces.

"Tengo sangre española del lado de mi padre" Wolf responded, also enjoying their expressions. It was rare he got to converse in this language and he always enjoyed doing it.

"Mind repeating that in English?" Eagle asked, staring between them, wondering if he'd somehow been insulted.

"Not really," Wolf answered casually, and Alex smirked when Eagle huffed in irritation.

They began eating after that and Alex had to give something to his new living situation, the Indian they used was _amazing. _He ate all of his first plate and had second helpings. The appetite of a teenage boy, especially one who had been denied good food for so long, was not to be reckoned with.

Annoyingly, he had to stop eating after every few bites to answer Eagle's questions who'd decided it was a great time to ask Alex every stupid meaningless question he could.

"So Cub, what's your favourite colour?"

"Don't have one," Alex asked, hoping short, disinterested answers would cause Eagle to give up. He had a feeling he knew where this was going, and it was best if Eagle got disinterested sooner.

"Oh come on, everyone has one! Mine's orange, Fox's is green and Wolf's is red. You have to have one!" He looked at Alex earnestly and the teen sighed.

"Fine. Blue."

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Eagle asked smugly.

Alex rolled his eyes but otherwise didn't respond. The rest of the questions after that followed the same pattern. Alex would try to get out of answering it, Eagle would force him to and then act very pleased with himself after, as if he'd won a great battle. The questions ranged from 'favourite animal' to 'favourite meal' but they suddenly changed without warning.

"How many missions have you been on?"

Wolf barely stopped himself from kicking Eagle in the shin. Up and till then he'd been content letting Eagle have his fun as Alex didn't look _too _annoyed but the man really had no tact whatsoever.

Alex was about to answer 'I don't know', as he'd answered every question with first until the question properly registered in his brain and he gave a sweet smile. This was what he'd been expecting.

"Classified."

"I'm sure you can tell us, we are your guardians after all," Eagle hedged and this time Wolf really did kick him.

"Well I could," Alex conceded and Eagle's face lit up. "But then I might have to kill you."  
Eagles face dropped and Alex gave a small dangerous smirk.

Fox smothered a laugh. In all honesty, Alex could probably tell them without any problems whatsoever but he wasn't going to bring that up now. It was up to Alex when he wanted to talk about his spy life. They shouldn't force him.

Eagle looked like he wanted to try ask another question but the other adults shut him up with glares. Looking put out, he resorted himself to asking more meaningless questions that Alex answered more happily since he knew Eagle wouldn't try asking about him being a spy again.

Afterwards they all sat on the sofa stuffed, even Alex had decided to stay which pleased them. They hoped it was a sign he was beginning to feel more comfortable with them. Alex would let them think what they will; he was just too full to move.

He wouldn't admit that this was one of the more enjoyable evenings he'd had in a long while.

* * *

**Translations (thanks to google translate) **

**Alex: My Uncle made me learn a couple of languages. What about you?**

**Wolf: I have Spanish blood from my father's side. **

_Once again, thanks for all the reviews, favourites and follows! I love checking my emails and seeing them. Fun fact, __this chapter ended up being nearly a 1000 words longer than the original! _


	7. Chapter 7

_Air, he needed air! His lungs couldn't take much more of this…_

_His head was pulled from the bucket of sea water, his eyes stinging from the salt that caused everything to blur. This was the fourth time his head had been dunked and each time he was staying submerged longer and longer. Between each dunk he was questioned but he barely had enough time to breathe, let alone answer them. _

"_I'm losing patience with you boy. Answer the questions!"_

"_I'm telling you I don't know!" Alex cried, his voice better after having being given the time to recuperate slightly. "Are you deaf or just stupid!?" He asked, knowing that wouldn't end well for him but he was past caring at this point. He just didn't want to die with them satisfied. _

_His captor shot daggers at Alex and shoved his head back into the water. This time he'd done it too hard and Alex's forehead was knocked into the bucket. He felt a rush of dizziness alerting him to fact he was about to lose consciousness. _

_Alex waited for him to be pulled back up one last time but then the dream changed. Instead of it ending with him blacking out as he stared into the eyes of his captor, he could hear a grumbling noise. It almost sounded like a tractor…_

Alex startled awake, sitting up ramrod straight as he did so. He allowed himself a two second scan of the room, to assure himself he was safe and alone, before flopping back into the centre of the bed to calm down. Briefly, he remembered Snake apologising for the location of his room. He now knew why. Eagle, whose room was right next door, was a snorer.

He was glad though. Eagle's snoring had prevented him from having to go through any more nightmares. The intensity at which they were now occurring bothered Alex. In the hospital they had been nowhere near this bad. What was the difference?

Alex suddenly realised he was extremely sweaty; his panic in the dreams affecting his body in real life. He sighed. There was no way he would be getting back to sleep now, but it felt too early in the morning to take a shower and he didn't want to wake the others. Alex got up from his bed and decided that it didn't matter because he felt absolutely disgusting and someone woke up and asked him about it, he just wouldn't answer. At least it was his room opposite the bathroom.

Stripping off his clammy pyjama trousers, he turned on the shower and allowed himself a few minutes under the warm water which eased his aching ribs. He knew the bandages would need to be changed after his shower, but hopefully they could wait till the morning when Snake said he'd do it. Alex allowed himself the chance to relax under the rush of water before regretfully turning it off and wrapping himself in a towel.

He was about to enter his room when he realised someone was watching him. Alex turned his head and found Eagle was standing in the corridor, holding a glass of water and looking at him with bleary confusion.

"Whatcha doing out here Cub?"

Alex subtly turned his chest so his bullet wound was out of view before he answered. "Having a shower."

Eagle squinted at him. "Isn't it like 4am? Why're you awake at this time?"

"Got a bit hot and wanted to cool down. It's alright, go back to sleep."

Eagle looked like he wanted to press the issue but he was way too tired to get serious. Instead, he just accepted it and muttered a "see you in the morning," as he shuffled back into his room. Alex let out a sigh of relief and did the same. With any luck Eagle will have forgotten about it in the morning or passed it off as a dream.

* * *

"He's still being troubled by nightmares," Eagle said the next morning. Everyone was awake except for Alex who had fallen asleep at his desk, head pillowed on his arms. No one had felt it necessary to wake him and after the reaction he'd had with Snake touching him, no one wanted to risk moving him.

"I know. What can we do about it?" Snake asked. "Wait, you're not telling us something. Did something happen last night?"

"He was having a shower at 4am. Now, I know teenagers have weird habits but that is seriously strange and he looked really uncomfortable when I asked him. I would have asked him more but I was too tired," Eagle said. "Oh, and he tried to hide his bullet wound again."

Snake shook his head in exasperation. "He really thinks we have no idea?"

Eagle shrugged. "Obviously not."

"That was something I wanted to talk about actually. How the hell does a kid get a bullet wound right next to his bloody heart! Adults don't even get that sort of crap!" Wolf had to remind himself to be quiet otherwise risk waking Alex up.

"My guess would be an assassination attempt," Fox replied grimly. "Only a professional could get it so close and I think Alex is lucky it didn't kill him."

Wolf ran a hand over his face. "Fuck guys, how the hell can one kid be so unlucky and lucky at the same time. How old do you think it is Snake?"

Snake shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure but I would say about four months or so. Fairly recent but not enough to play up much unless it's aggravated. I suppose we should be grateful his captors didn't exploit it like they could have." He grimaced at the thought.

"Oh yes," Wolf said sarcastically. "I'll just go thank them that weren't as big of dicks as they could have been."

"Well, there's nothing we can really do about that now except make sure it continues to heal, like the rest of him," Fox said, cutting the conversation topic. "Back to the nightmares. What are we going to do?"

"We could take him to see one of our psychiatrists" Eagle suggested but Fox shook his head.

"He's tight lipped enough as it is; I doubt he would say a word about it. My guess would be that the only one he confided in was his previous guardian."

Everyone frowned at the mention of Alex's deceased guardian. So far Alex hadn't said a word about her to them and they wondered if he had properly grieved for her at all seeing as he had been taken captive straight after her death.

"I think the best thing to do is earn his trust enough so that he'll feel comfortable talking to us about it" Wolf said grudgingly, knowing that it wouldn't be an easy task. "Though I may be better if we know what he's been through beforehand so we know how to handle it. Fox, do you think you'll be able to get Cub's file?"

"I should be able to. I can go now." He suggested and the rest of them agreed.

Once he left Eagle spoke up. "I feel kind of bad sneaking behind Cub's back," he admitted. "Do you think we could try and find out without needing to look at his files?"

"If you think you can do it. Just don't annoy him or pester him with it. If he doesn't want to talk about it then there's nothing we can do to make him," Wolf reasoned.

"Ok, I can agree to that. Leave it to me."

* * *

Alex woke with a crash to the floor. He blinked and realised that he must have fallen asleep while trying to study. His ribs protested as he got up and the healing skin over his burns tugged, making him wince. It had also done nothing to help his head which was now beating a painful drum at the back. Breathing through the pain, Alex checked his watch and found it was 10:30am. He was grateful he'd managed to get a good few hours of undisturbed sleep before he saw the others. The last thing he needed was to turn up with dark rings under his eyes that begged question.

He quickly got changed and went to get some breakfast. He knew Snake would want to change his bandages but he needed some food beforehand. As he got to the living room the memory of seeing Eagle the previous night entered and he hoped once again that the man had forgotten all about it.

In the living area, only Wolf and Eagle were present, both of them sitting at the table with cups of coffee.

"Snake's in his room getting his medical stuff ready and Fox went out," Wolf explained when he saw Alex's questioning glance. "Take a seat."

Alex did that and was just about to ask what they had for breakfast when Eagle beat him to it.

"Hey Cub, we should probably talk about your missions."

Alex snorted. Yeah, no. Not happening.

"Bananas…" He muttered and Eagle looked at him with confusion.

"Er, what?"

"I was just wondering if you had any bananas for breakfast. I'm pretty hungry." Alex said as he stood, searching the kitchen.

"Uh, sure. In the fruit bowl by the fridge," Eagle answered, watching Alex with confusion.

Alex went to get them but Eagle wasn't finished. "Seriously Cub, as one of your four amazing guardians I think…" Alex interrupted him.

"Tea?" He asked.

"We don't have any, coffees on the side if you want it. Now really, we should…" He was interrupted a second time.

"I think I'm going to wait in my room until Snake's ready. I have a load of studying to catch up on."

Weakly, Eagle raised a hand in protest but before he could say anything Alex was gone. Beside him, Wolf snorted. "Great plan genius."

Eagle glared at him. "It was worth a try. Sorry if I don't feel like learning private stuff without his consent."

Wolf sighed and shook his head. "It's probably the only way we can, conscience be damned. Now stop sulking and finish your damn coffee."

Alex was finishing his banana as Snake knocked on his door.

"Come in," he answered and Snake walked inside, medical kit in hand.

"How have you been feeling? Any more pain than usual?" Snake questioned as he set his equipment on the desk.

"No," Alex replied, ignoring his minor incident in the morning because it was a bit embarrassing and it didn't hurt anymore because of it.

"That's good. Mind if I get a look at your ribs?" Alex shook his head and prepared to take of his shirt when a sudden thought made him hesitate. Doing this would reveal his bullet wound to Snake and there was no way the medic was just going to ignore it. The problem was that in order to change the bandages, he _had _to take his top off.

Snake, seeing Alex's hesitation, took pity on the teen.

"Alex, we know about your scar," he said and Alex's eyes widened.

"What, how?"

Snake explained. "When we found you in the cell your chest wasn't exactly covered. It wasn't hard to miss."

Alex swallowed and avoided looking at Snake. "I'm surprised you haven't brought it up," he said dryly, attempting to keep the panic at bay.

"We don't want to force you into telling us anything you don't want to" Snake told him, ignoring the fact that right at that moment Fox was attempting to get Alex's files.

Alex gave him a look that said 'what about Eagle?' and Snake clarified. "Except Eagle but he's always been more curious than the rest of us. Look, you don't have to talk about it now, you don't have to talk about it at all but we know the nightmares haven't stopped and we really think it would help if you spoke about it. We won't get mad at you; we'll get mad at Blunt and anyone who has tried to hurt you in the past."

Alex stayed silent. He didn't know why these people, these _strangers_, cared about him or what he had to say so much. Maybe he never would, so he merely replied "I'll think about it."

Snake smiled at him, pleased that he'd even got that much out of Alex and then begun his examination.

* * *

"I request to see Alex's file"

"May I ask why?" Blunt questioned to his operative. Honestly, he was rather surprised he hadn't been asked for the file straight away but he would preferably like to keep it. Whilst he didn't care what people thought of him, Agent Rider's mission never seemed to go as planned and therefore his guardians might be a bit…shocked. And then they might try and shout at him which was always a tedious occasion.

"As one of his legal guardians I think I have the right to know what my charge has been going through since his recruitment. I believe it is currently hindering his recovery and seeing as the point of us looking after him is for that very reason, I want to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible. If looking at his file requires that then I will do it."

"You do know Agent Rider will not be pleased if he finds you have been looking at private information. It is also against the rules to give out files to other operatives, you know that."

Fox clenched his hands. He knew it wasn't normally done but then he really needed to see those files.

"Alan. I believe we can make an exception in this rather…unique case" Mrs Jones said and Fox blinked in surprise. He wasn't expecting the woman to come to his aid.

Blunt sighed. If Mrs Jones thought he should do it then he saw no reason to not let her to deal with the consequences.

"Fine. Mrs Jones, please go and find Agent Rider's folder for Agent Daniels."

Mrs Jones nodded and Fox had to wait an uncomfortable five minutes in silence with Blunt before she returned.

"Here you go Agent Daniels. You can return this tomorrow. I don't think I need to stress the importance that these not find their way into the wrong hands, do I?"

"No, of course not. I'll bring it back tomorrow," Fox reassured her and she graced him with a small smile. She had become somewhat fond of Alex Rider and was glad that his guardians appeared to be treating him well. Better than he would have been treated had Blunt been in full control of his recovery.

* * *

That evening, he waited until Alex had retired to his room for the night before showing the other's the files. He hadn't even opened it as he wanted them all to read it together. He retrieved the file from his room and they all gathered around it on the table.

"Are you sure we should do this?" Eagle asked; biting his lip. Wolf huffed.

"We have no other choice. Let's get it over with," Wolf opened up the file and his hand stopped in shock.

"Tell me this is a joke and I'm not really seeing this," Fox asked weakly.

"Nope, you're seeing this alright," Wolf said, feeling extremely stupid.

The pages were blank!

* * *

_I had to keep this bit in. It's a tad less realistic than I would like but I just wanted to keep it. As always, a massive thank you for all reviews, favourites and follows! _


	8. Chapter 8

_A word of warning, updates may be slower due to me having mocks and the fact the gap between chapters I've posted and am writing is getting lower. I will try to keep it to at least once a week if possible._

* * *

They weren't sure if this was a trick played by Blunt or the evidence that someone had actually stolen Alex's file. From inside the corridor, Alex smiled, pleased that his plan had worked. Though he was still pissed they had actually gone behind his back when they'd promised they wouldn't.

About a month after he'd been let out of the hospital for his bullet wound, Alex had decided that he'd wanted to remove his files so no one could get the information without his knowledge. It wasn't so that he could show it to the government, they would be silenced the moment they raised a fuss; it was so that Blunt could never pass it to a new potential employer or anything along those lines. There was also the risk of it being stolen. His private life was his to know alone and he'd never asked to have the job so he didn't feel the rules of requiring a file applied to him.

Alex remembered the moment he'd changed his files fondly as he stared at the baffled men in the living area.

"_Smithers?" Alex held the phone to his ear, waiting for a reply. Hopefully Smither's wouldn't be busy and redirect his call. Then again, Smither's had assured him that this was one of his more personal numbers and he was one of the few adults Alex had any trust left for. He was not disappointed. _

"_Alex, m'boy! What can I do for you? I heard about that nasty business with the sniper. Are you alright?" Alex smiled at the genuine concern in Smither's voice and was quick to reassure him. _

"_I'm fine thanks. I was just wondering if you'd be able to do a favour for me."_

"_Well, if it's within reason then of course!" _

_Alex wasn't sure if his request was 'within reason' but hopefully if he explained himself well enough then Smither's would do as he asked. _

"_I was wondering if you would be able to get access to my file," Alex said, praying Smither's said yes. It was his only option and he would really like to loosen the power Blunt had over him. _

_Smither's paused before answering. "Well, I could possibly get in there but it's quite the risk. I wouldn't really have any reason to need to be there."_

_Alex had planned for this. "You could tell them that you want to see how past gadgets have worked in my missions and compare them all together in order to make an event better set…next time," He frowned at the thought of that then carried on. "I want you to switch my files with blank sheets of paper. Do what you want with the original, burn it or maybe find a way to send it to me. I just don't want the information to be given to anyone without me knowing. MI6 also isn't protected from everything. It would just give me peace of mind to know my private life remained just that, private."_

_From the other end of the line, Smither's sighed. "Alright, I'll give it a go. I can't promise I'll be able to do it though," He warned and Alex knew that. He just wanted to try. _

"_Thank you Smither's," he replied gratefully._

"_You're welcome m'boy. Let's just hope I don't end up losing my job over this." _

Smither's had managed to get his files in the end, in such a way that when he told Alex he'd done it he said he could see what the appeal of an active job. However, he wasn't sure if his heart could stand to do it permanently. Smither's had told him he'll keep the files in storage for a while until he felt a long enough time had passed for him to safely send them to him. Alex had told him it would be easier just to destroy them, but Smither's had been adamant to hold onto them. Said they could be important to him for the future, should he ever decide to press charges or something of the sort. Alex knew that would be impossible, but he appreciated the sentiment all the same.

In the living room the men were still debating what had gone wrong when Fox said. "I'll call MI6; tell them there's a problem."

Alex was not going to allow them to undo his, or rather Smither's, hard work and so he was going to be forced to reveal his actions to them. He hoped they would understand and pretend nothing was amiss when they returned them. Then again, if he made them feel guilt-ridden enough they may feel obliged to keep it.

Alex was not going to allow them to undo his, or rather, Smither's, hard work. With any luck they'll agree to keep it a secret.

Alex hurriedly walked in and when it was clear they hadn't heard him, said, "It was me. I switched them. For good reason." He raised an eyebrow at them.

They all jumped and looked at him. Eagle flushed guiltily and Wolf, who appeared the least guilty, still looked away ashamedly.

"We were just trying to help," Eagle blurted out and Alex kept his eyebrow raised.

"By invading my privacy? Telling me you'll happily wait for me to tell you in my own time then just ignoring that and trying to find everything out from my files anyway? Yeah, real helpful." Alex replied sarcastically.

"Totally not my idea. I voted against it the whole time. I tried to get it the better way" Eagle pointed out but Alex glared at him, unimpressed. He was not going to get out of this by shifting blame.

"And yet you were still there, willing to view the file regardless," Alex exhaled wearily. He was beginning to get really tired. Normally he would be asleep by this time. How long he stayed asleep differed, but the point remained that his body wanted to crash and he wasn't letting it. To give it a bit of a break, he settled onto the sofa, not caring if they followed or stayed put.

"Listen, how about if I promise to give you guys an insight but I will only do it if you promise to never do something like this again and don't force me to answer anything I don't want to. I swear, if anything I tell you gets leaked I will be mad and there's a reason I was chosen to be a teen spy and it wasn't only because of my cute face." Alex eyed them all dangerously and they each knew what he was talking about. That look made him appear almost ten years older.

"We promise Alex," Fox said, using his proper name on purpose to convey he was serious. "But you don't have to if you don't want to."

Alex snorted. "And allow you to try and find out by other means? No. I can see the only thing I can do to stop you is by giving you something and if I have to do that it'll be on my terms."

"Ok." There wasn't much Fox could say to that which wouldn't make him feel even worse about himself.

"Good. Now, I'm going to sleep." With that he left, leaving four very ashamed men in his wake.

* * *

The next day was uneventful. Alex wasn't in the mood to speak with any of them just yet and so he mostly stayed in his room except for meals. The only time one of them actively went to him was Snake to check how he was feeling and to give him a new bottle of pain killers as the one he had had run out.

The morning after that, however, was different in the sense that when he woke up everything was silent. Normally he could at least here one of the unit moving around but no, this time it was silent and it immediately set Alex on edge. He dressed in record time and went out to investigate.

He was met with a fairly average sight, considering the possibilities that had been running through his head. All of them but Fox were sitting around the table discussing something quietly. The news was on but it had been put on silent. When they realised Alex was there, they stopped talking and turned to him, grim-faced. A sinking feeling settled in Alex's stomach.

"What's going on?" He asked, eyes inadvertently darting to the TV which was showing scenes of a fire. Alex would have dismissed it except he recognised that area and he recognised that house. It was his home.

He ran to the remote and turned the volume up.

"…currently the source of the fire is unconfirmed but it is thought it was an accident due to a fault in the gas system. There have been no reported deaths. Tune in later for an update."

The remote fell from his hands and he staggered backwards, causing him to fall onto the sofa in a boneless heap. His home. Gone. The last connection he had to a life before MI6 had disappeared in mere seconds and Alex wasn't sure what to feel.

"Cub..Alex. Alex!" Someone was calling him. Strange, he'd only just heard them when by the looks on their faces suggested they'd been trying to get his attention for a while. His eyes were blurred though and he couldn't make them out. He'd forgotten to blink.

"You're back," Alex answered tonelessly, when he saw it was Fox who'd been calling him. He hadn't heard him get back in. Absently, Alex knew he must be in shock, he'd felt this on a larger scale when Jack had died, but he didn't know what to do about it.

"I've just been to MI6 to see what they could tell me. The attack was deliberate but they don't understand the motive. Whoever did it must have known you wouldn't be there," Fox informed him. Blunt had been very brief in their meeting, refusing to give much away and it irritated him to no end. He'd just told him that they were working on it which wasn't helpful at all.

"Of course it was," Alex answered bluntly. Unrestrained anger entered him, signalling the shock was dissipating. Of course the attack was deliberate. It was too much to ask that he finally be allowed a semblance of peace. No, he would never escape this life. He'd pissed of way too many people to be able to have that. This was all MI6's fault. If they'd never recruited him then he'd still have a home, he'd still have Jack, have a normal life…

Alex knew he had to get out of there before he started crying. He wasn't just mourning the loss of his home, but the loss of his old life. MI6 had taken it all away from him. He made to stand up but Fox placed a hand on his shoulder, halting him.

"Alex…if you want to talk about it" He trailed off, looking at Alex expectantly but the teen just shook his head and moved from his grip.

"I just want to be left alone," He muttered and Fox could do no more than let him go. He turned to the others who looked back equally helpless. They heard the door slam and then the sound of something hitting the wall. That sound repeated a few times before it ended and they heard a stifled sob that made them all wince.

"At least he's releasing it instead of bottling it up," Snake said with a feeble shrug.

Wolf sighed. "This is seriously fucked up," he said and the others agreed.

"I wish there was a way we could help instead of just trying to get him to talk to us," Eagle lamented.

Wolf's head perked up as he suddenly had an idea. "I have an idea of something we could do. Something which may get his mind of things."

* * *

K-Unit gave Alex a few hours to himself before telling him of their plan. Fox nominated himself to go and to inform Alex of it. He knocked on the teen's door and was relieved that Alex allowed him to come inside instead of outright dismissing him, like he'd been anticipating.

Alex didn't look great, his eyes were red rimmed and he could see a noticeable dent in the wall along with the beginnings of bruises forming on the teen's scraped knuckles, but he looked fairly calm now, with only a resigned look on his face.

"What do you want?" Alex asked, refusing to look at him.

Fox settled himself on the desk chair. "Firstly, I wanted to see how you were doing."

Alex shrugged and didn't bother answering. He wasn't fine but he was dealing with it like he dealt with everything else that happened in his crap life.

"I guess I really shouldn't expect anymore," Fox said. "Listen, me and the others were thinking that you haven't really been out much recently. How would you feel about going camping?"

Eagle had wanted to make it a surprise in the hopes of coaxing him out, but Fox thought the boy had probably had enough surprises lately and would refuse to get in the car if he wasn't told where they were going.

"No thanks."

Fox could see what was going to happen. Alex would end up probably spending the rest of his days living with them hidden in his room, only coming out for meals. How it had been since he arrived really. It wouldn't be good for the teen and it would probably drive him and the others a bit crazy, knowing he was there but not being able to do a damn thing to help because Alex didn't want it. He knew he was being a bit optimistic, but he truly thought some time in the outdoors might help.

"I know you probably don't feel up to the moment but we really think it would do you some good. You haven't been out much lately and I'm sure you're getting a bit stir crazy."

"Not up to it? I wonder why that is. It's not like my home has just been burnt to the ground officially making me an orphan _and _homeless and the only people I have left to turn to are the people who caused the situation in the first place!"

Damn, Fox really felt bad for Alex. When he put it like that, it was a wonder he hadn't lost his sanity. The kid probably had some major trust issues and a lack of faith in adults. It wasn't surprising, the way he had been treated.

"You can turn to us," Fox offered. "That's the whole reason we're here."

Alex scoffed. "And how long's that going to last? Until I'm better and they send me off on my next mission while you all get on with your lives? What's the point?" He twisted onto his side, ignoring his protesting ribs, effectively putting a barrier between himself and Fox. Fox wasn't going to give up that easily though. He was determined to sort this out.

"I don't know what will happen after," Fox admitted. "But you can be damned sure I'm not going to let you go on another mission if I can help it."

Alex softly snorted. "Nice wish. Try telling Blunt that and see how well it goes."

He had a good point, and the promise had been a bit of the spur of the moment thing, as most things seemed to be when concerning Alex, but Fox was suddenly very resolute that Alex would not be under MI6's thumb any longer.

"I'm not sure about how I'll go about it," he confessed, "but I swear to you I will try my best, as will the others."

"But why?" The voice sounded so young, so lost, that Fox's heart broke slightly.

"Because you're a child, Alex. A boy forced to grow up too quickly. Hell, the stuff I've seen so far has terrified _me _and I am an adult who willingly signed up for it. I can't begin to imagine the stuff you've seen but I want to make sure you don't have to see it again. Those nightmares you've been having? I get them too and I know that can be as scary as hell. I consented to them, you didn't. What Blunt has done is _wrong_ and I want to make things right."

Alex stayed silent for a bit, digesting Fox's words.

"How do I know I can trust you to keep your word?" He asked bitterly, thinking of all the other adults who had failed him previously.

"You don't, but that's the whole point of trust. You just have faith in that person. How about if you start calling me Ben? Would that help? Show that the past is behind us."

Alex thought about it. "Ok," he murmured and Ben smiled.

"You know" Alex said quietly, still not looking at Ben, "this probably wouldn't have happened if it weren't for my Uncle."

Ben stayed quiet. This was the first piece of information Alex had offered willingly and he wasn't going to knock it.

"He was a spy as well," Alex carried on. "He trained me for this life. If it weren't for him doing that I probably wouldn't have been anything special, and they would have left me alone. I still loved him though," he hastily added, as he thought Ben would accuse him of not doing such a thing.

"Of course you did, he was your Uncle," Ben said understandingly, imaging a younger Alex being taught to fight, to hide. To be a spy. It was an uncomfortable picture.

"Yeah…" Alex drifted off. For a second Ben thought he'd fallen asleep till he spoke up again. "You can tell the other's I'll go camping."

Ben grinned at Alex's back. "That's good. Eagle will be pleased. I know he's been looking forward to making smores."

Alex didn't laugh, but he did give an amused noise which was more than Ben was hoping. He left Alex alone, after telling him they'd be leaving that afternoon and he should pack soon, and exited his room with a large feeling of accomplishment. He honestly hadn't expected it to go so well but he felt he understood the teen more and all the memories of Brecon Beacons seemed even worse. He had acted like such a shit and hadn't really spared a thought about Alex after until Wolf had spoken about him. Even then it was a short conversation.

The other's looked at him expectantly when he entered and he smiled.

"Looks like we're going camping."

Eagle cheered whilst Wolf and Snake looked vaguely impressed.

"I honestly didn't think the kid would say yes," Wolf said.

"Neither did I," Ben admitted. "But we had a bit of a chat and I may have promised that we would do all we can to make sure he never went on another mission."

"Well we'll certainly try," Snake said determinedly and without hesitation.

"Yeah," Eagle agreed. "Blunt's a bastard for what he's done. Alex doesn't deserve that shit."

"We can think about what to do after we've been camping," Wolf decided. "This'll be a chance for Alex to hopefully have a good time. And us to. When was the last time we went camping for fun?"

"Too long" Eagle complained. "Let's get the stuff ready. I can't wait!"

* * *

_As per usual, all reviews, favourites and follows are immensely appreciated! Thanks guys!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Due to mocks and an appalling lack of time, updates will now be every Friday._

* * *

Alex remembered the last time he'd been camping. He'd been seven and Ian had taken him into the forest to learn survival skills. Ian had told him it would be the routine stuff but along the track he suddenly lost his uncle. Years later, he'd realised it was intentional, but at the time he'd been absolutely terrified and thought Ian would be mad at him for getting lost. He'd been forced to spend the entire evening and a bit of the night searching for his Uncle.

Hungry and cold, he used the skills Ian had already taught him to find some berries which he knew were edible. Then, to stay away from any predators that might have been lurking around, he'd taken refuge on a low branch, using his backpack as a pillow. Ian had intentionally made sure Alex had been given the bare necessities possible so he'd only had a torch and some spare clothes. No food, no way to contact him.

In the morning he'd been woken by Ian who had told Alex that he should have found him. It turned out that he hadn't actually been that far away from Alex and had left tracks. He did however congratulate Alex for finding food and not killing himself, and also for his choice of shelter. Age seven, Alex didn't care much for Ian's words and flung himself at the man, relieved to know he hadn't been abandoned.

The next 'camping trip' they took Alex found Ian relatively quickly and instead of revealing himself, took all of his food and waited until morning. Ian told him he was proud of him.

* * *

In an effort to make this camping trip as comfortable as possible, Alex was still injured after all and they didn't want him getting ill, Wolf had called up a friend and asked to borrow their tents which were one of the newest models.

The problem was that none of them weren't used to these sorts of tents. They were used to easy to put up, convenient tents that were good if you were hiding out. They had come with instructions however none of them seemed that good at following them. Alex, who had been excused from trying to help because of his ribs, watched them with faint bemusement, wondering how it was that none of them had a single idea what they were doing. Alex thought about helping as he had put up similar tents in the past, but considering how they'd hijacked his supposed file without his permission, left them to struggle a bit longer.

Eventually, Wolf realised they were never going to get them up and saw Alex watching them with a small smile.

"Hey Cub. You won't happen to know how to put these up, would you?" Alex's smile became wider and a cheeky glint entered his eyes.

"Maybe," he replied and Wolf groaned. The kid was going to make him beg, wasn't he?

"Think you could help?" He asked and Alex shrugged.

"I could, but I'm pretty comfortable." That was true. Going out into the fresh air had been a good idea. He wished he could go for a run and stretch his legs, but he doubted they would let him go alone and he didn't really want company. So instead he was content to sit and bask in the spring sun.

"You've got to sleep in these too, you know," Snake pointed out but Alex was unconcerned. He'd slept in worse, and there was no way he was going to wait until night to help them. He left them to fumble around for another ten minutes before demanding they give him the instructions. For 3 SAS soldiers and an MI6 agent they really did a piss poor job following a simple set of pictures.

* * *

Finally, after a half hour of Alex directing the men and all of them getting frustrated when things still weren't working, the tents were set up, the second tent going up much smoother than the first.

The sun was beginning to set, the blue sky turning a light orange colour and all of their stomachs began to rumble. They quickly set up a fire and had a meal of sausages and beans since camping limited their culinary choices. It didn't matter though, the real thing they were looking forward to eating were the smores.

As they each sat with their own sugary creation, Eagle started the conversation.

"So Cub, have you been camping before? I mean for fun."

Alex was fairly certain his trips with Ian didn't count so shook his head. "Not properly. I camped out with my friend in his garden once but it was hardly camping. It started raining so we ended up sleeping indoors anyway."

"You have friends?" Eagle said, and realising that his surprise at that sounded rude he clarified. "That is, uh, you have friends? Do they know about your um…lifestyle?"

The way he phrased it made Alex snort. "Yeah they do."

Ben suddenly realised that Alex must be feeling lonely. After all, the only people he really had time to spend with were four adults. "You know, you can always have them over some time," Ben offered. "Not a party or anything but if you warned us beforehand it would be fine."

Alex didn't have enough friends for a marginally large gathering, let alone a party, but he didn't mention that. Once upon a time he would have, but not since his missions kept him out of school for so long. He thought Tom might be willing to come over. Alex wondered whether Tom knew about Jack. He guessed it would have been in the paper, but then it may not where MI6 were concerned.

"I'll think about it," Alex said in response.

"I've been wondering," Snake said, and Alex had a feeling this was going to be one of those uncomfortable questions. "How does school fit around the missions? Do they just pluck you out randomly? It's ok if you don't want to answer," he hastily added when he realised that just asking might make Alex angry.

Alex considered the question. It wasn't that bad a question really, it wasn't asking about his missions directly. Then again, Alex was getting more and more reluctant to stop himself talking about the missions. There wasn't much point in keeping it secret and it would be better if they heard it from him than other sources. Still, he would only give up that information if asked from him in a manner he liked. Like how Snake had done it. Best not to let them get too confident.

"Not all of it is during school time," Alex replied. "But yeah, I suppose I just leave when I'm needed for a mission. Sometimes it's not entirely their fault." They look at him incredulously and he explained. "A couple of times trouble finds me first and the mission itself comes after. I kind of just end up getting involved. I'm lucky that way" He gave a wry grin that none of the other's returned.

"So…how many missions would you say you've been on then?" Wolf asked, unsure whether Alex will actually answer but figuring it's worth a shot.

Alex thought over it for a bit. "Four officially."

"What do you mean by officially?" Ben asked, noticing the careful wording.

Alex refused to talk about SCORPIA. That is something they don't need to know about. "Classified," he replied and though the men knew it was an excuse, they didn't push the topic.

"I'm guessing the previous mission is where you got your bullet wound," Snake said, and Alex, feeling they were getting a bit too personal for his liking, shut down.

"Maybe," Snake saw this was another uncomfortable topic, perhaps related to the other, and dropped it.

A tension filled the air that hadn't previously been there before and K-Unit decided they had asked enough about Alex's life. They suspected they wouldn't get anymore answers out of him even if earlier in the evening he may have been willing to give them. So instead, Wolf pulled out a pack of cards and they spent the rest of the night going through all the card games they knew. It was full of a lot of accusations, mainly towards Eagle, of cheating. Alex was pleased to note that no-one realised it was all him.

* * *

Alex woke with a start. Beside him, Fox stirred but otherwise didn't move. He stayed motionless until he realised it was Eagle's snoring that had woken him, something the rest of the men were immune to. Unlike the last time that had happened, he wasn't as glad as for once he hadn't had any nightmares. He guessed it was because he was sleeping in such proximity to the Unit and they somehow made him feel safe. Alex wondered when he'd started feeling that.

Bladder full and demanding emptying, Alex quietly moved out of the tent and moved to about a metre away. Far enough that they couldn't hear him, but close enough that he was still able to see the tents. He was about to return when he heard a rustle. Alex debated leaving it, it was probably just an animal, but his curiosity got the better of him as it usually did.

He crept towards the direction the noise had come from, taking care to make his footsteps as quite as possible. With any luck, an innocent animal would pop out, or maybe even one of Wolf or Eagle, who had been in the other tent.

Alex barely had time to stop the cloth that was shoved in his face. Going against his desired reaction, which was to inhale, he shut his mouth and held his breath to stop the smell of chloroform entering his system. He dug his shoulder back into his attacker and shoved the cloth away from him.

His attacker, obviously not expecting Alex to fight back, stumbled and Alex was able to get a brief look at him, not that it helped any. He was a man covered completely in black, a mask over his face to conceal his identity. His attacker came at him, quick as lightening but Alex was not going to allow himself to be taken that easily. He attempted to shout but just in time, his attacker shoved a hand over his mouth and kneed him in the stomach.

Alex anticipated it, so had sucked his stomach in, but it still seriously hurt. He attempted to bite his attacker to remove his hand but he wasn't deterred and moments before the man could hit him over the head, he pushed against him and managed to loosen the grip on him.

Alex kicked at the man, in an attempt to remove the grip completely and it worked for almost a second. In that second he was about to shout "Ben!" before something pricked him in the neck and it all went black.

* * *

_Thank you as always for the reviews, favourites and follows! _


	10. Chapter 10

_The scent of blood filled his nostrils; the sounds of explosions surrounded him. Wolf looked at his teammates and gave a sharp nod. The group moved forward but they had barely been exposed when, seconds later, bullets rained down on them and then one by one they fell…glassy eyed and pale… _

"Ben!"

"Shit!"

Wolf sat up, breathing heavily. He was used to the nightmares, they were unavoidable, but Wolf held a particular hatred for the nightmare he had just experienced. It was one he had had ever since returning to England and Eagle had tried to get him to go to a therapist for it, but he refused. As far as he was concerned, he deserved them.

The dream, however, wasn't his priority at the moment. What was the priority; was the scream he'd just heard that sounded just like Alex. Next to him, Snake was also awakening and was wondering what was happening. They both scrambled out of the tent and met Eagle and Fox. Alex wasn't with them, confirming his worry.

"That was Alex. He shouted my name," Fox said grimly.

Wolf was going to ask since when had Alex begun calling Fox 'Ben', but he knew that was the least of their worries.

"How did someone get to him? Damn it. Which direction did his shout come from?" Wolf asked.

Fox pointed to his right. "It came from over there, if we hurry we may catch up to them." He didn't want to think about what would happen if they didn't.

Ignoring the fact that they were all in their pyjamas, Wolf grabbed his gun as did the others. They never would have left the flat without them, especially since with the risk of something like this happening. Wolf mentally berated himself for allowing it, though logically he knew that none of this was his fault.

His teammates were oblivious to his internal strife and Wolf spoke as if nothing were wrong. "Move quickly and silently. We need to find tracks, if there are any."

It didn't take long for them to spy Alex's footprints from when he first woke up but they disappeared not long after.

"The person who took them knows what they're doing," Ben muttered, wishing he had some of his equipment on him, though nothing he currently held onto would truly help in the situation.

"We'll split up," Wolf decided after a second of planning. "Snake, you're with me and Eagle, you're with Fox. You all have your phones right?" A chorus of 'right' answered him and with his mouth set in a grim line, he signalled to them to go.

With no obvious tracks to follow, they had to look for more subtle clues such as some leaves being pressed further to the ground than others. It wasn't much, but it was something. And that something had to be enough.

* * *

His head felt like it was stuffed with wool and his eyes felt heavy. His body refused to co-operate with him but he could still feel his ribs protest as he was carried over his captors shoulder. Over-all, he felt like shit.

Alex had only been conscious for a few minutes. He was surprised that he wasn't in his destination yet and that the dose wasn't more powerful. Then again, he couldn't have shouted if he'd tried and his wrists were bound together tightly with rope. Alex knew there was no way he'd be able to escape this man, but he needed to find a way to make it easier for the other's to track him. This man had obviously been well trained and was covering his footsteps expertly.

Alex flexed against his restraints to see how much strength he had. The man carrying him either didn't know he was awake, or didn't care and was more focused on transporting him swiftly through the forest. Alex knew it was a big one that had somehow managed to be preserved for many decades, but he wasn't sure how close his captor had got to the edge as he didn't know how long he'd been out for.

Alex flexed against his restraints once more and was confused. The sedative coursing through him was wearing of much faster than he anticipated, or at least than Alex thought it should have (not that he was complaining). Whilst his captor was a good fighter, it looked like he was absolutely rubbish with dosages. This gave Alex an unexpected advantage. It allowed him to do the following.

Lifting his head as high as it would go, Alex flung it at his captor's back. As he'd wanted, the man stumbled and made a nice long track in the ground along with a couple of broken twigs. Too angry to cover up the evidence, the man grabbed Alex and held by his throat in front of him, effectively choking him.

"You little bastard. You should be glad the boss wants you alive," The man growled, his accent betraying his Essex origin.

Alex couldn't answer and the man smirked slightly before bringing up a fist and punching him in the head, knocking him back into unconsciousness.

* * *

They had been searching for twenty minutes with no sign of Alex and Ben was really beginning to panic. Whoever had him really knew what they were doing and this did not comfort him in the slightest. So highly strung, he almost missed the pretty obvious dent in the dirt in front of him.

"Snake, get over here," He whispered, beckoning him over.

Snake, who had been a few feet away, did so and looked at the mark as well.

"Good on Cub. He managed to give us a head's up," He said, pleased.

"After this the tracks are becoming more obvious," Fox noted, searching ahead. "Looks like the guy who has Alex realised what Alex did and sped up. Good for us as that means he became sloppier."

"I'll contact Wolf and get him to track us over here. With any luck we'll be able to catch if we hurry," Snake said.

Fox nodded. "I'll go up ahead. I'm better at moving more silently faster than you. Tell Wolf and you guys can track me."

Snake didn't hesitate before pulling out his phone and Fox didn't hang around. He moved as quickly as possible, not caring if he was too loud to begin with, the guy probably was probably a good few miles ahead of him and any noise he made now wouldn't matter. He just needed to make sure he found Alex in time.

* * *

Alex woke once more with his head feeling like crap. This time, however, it was voices that had awakened him.

"I thought you said they'd be here by now," someone whispered, and Alex recognised it as the man who'd captured him.

"They were supposed to be here. I do not know why they are not. All we can do is wait here for them to arrive," a second voice replied. This one also sounded familiar, but for a different reason. The accent sounded slightly Australian but Alex could detect hints of another in it, the one that was recognisable and stronger than the Australian. It was a strange combination to hear.

Alex squinted through his eyes, not wanting them to realise he was awake just yet. He saw the two men who'd spoken in front of him but he couldn't see them clearly due to the dark. Fortunately appeared there were no other men. If K-Unit got there in time, there was the chance they would be able to get him away.

"This has been a disaster from the beginning," the Essex man carried on. "First that sedative failed and now they aren't even coming to get us!" He started pacing around angrily.

"You know as well as I do Burton that there was not enough time for more planning. We have one chance at this." The second man replied and Alex realised what the second accent he'd heard was, Russian. The man sounded almost like Yassen. Alex could confidently say it wasn't the other assassin, as he was dead, but had he not known that then he could have been mistaken. After closer thought, Alex noted that the tone of the voice was younger, less harsh than Yassen's had been.

Burton snorted. "And look at how well it's going. We'll be lucky if his guardians don't find us. Oh, hey look, kids awake."

Without realising it, Alex had forgotten to squint and his eyes were wide open as Burton loomed over him.

"You've caused quite the bit of trouble kid," he said and aimed a kick at his stomach that Alex was unable to avoid. He grunted as the kick aggravated the stitch and Burton smirked. "That was for your little stunt earlier."

The Russian sighed. "Leave the child alone. You know the boss wants him in good health when he arrives."

Burton sneered. "I don't see why. She was perfectly content to allow him to be tortured before."

Alex froze. He'd known it was possible, but to have it confirmed that these men were in league with the people who'd taken him before and killed Jack, sent a sinking feeling through him. The memory of Jack's death entered his mind again before he could stop it and it was then he realised one more thing. The Russian had been the one to kill Jack.

…_he opened the door and halted. Jack was tied to the chair, gagged and with a large gash on her forehead from which blood dripped slowly. At first, Alex thought she was unconscious, but then she raised her head and looked at him with desperation and regret. _

_Surrounding her were three men, all of them carrying guns. Two were now pointed at him and one was pressed against Jack's temple. He felt his breath leave him as he stared at Jack, panic mounting and causing his heart to beat painfully against his chest. _

"_Alex Rider," the man whose gun was pressed against Jack spoke, his voice deep and accent thick. _

"_What do you want?" His voice came out much calmer than it could have considering he was slowly losing all control. He wanted to lunge at these men, rip the guns from their hands and protect Jack but he couldn't. The moment he moved a bullet would either be in him or her. The best he could do was hope that if he complied with them that Jack would be safe. _

"_Isn't it obvious? We want you. If you would please step nicely towards my friend, I promise not to kill your nice lady friend here." The man nodded to the guy to his left, who was holding a pair of handcuffs in the hand which wasn't grasping the gun. _

"_How do I know I can trust you to do as you say," Alex said, leaning forward slightly, calculating whether there was any way he could avoid being captured, whilst also avoid Jack's death. _

"_You do not. But if you would like me to kill her now that can certainly be arranged." _

_The gun was pressed harder against Jack and she whimpered. Alex glanced at her and the look she was giving him to him to fight, to protect himself. But he couldn't. If there was a chance they kept their word, he had to. _

"_No! Don't. I'll come with you. Just don't hurt her." He left off the please, knowing it would only make them more satisfied. _

_Alex began to walk towards the man with the handcuffs and avoided looking at Jack, knowing she would be angry and fearful. He did check that the gun against her temple was gone however, before he made it completely towards the man. _

_His hands were wrenched against his back and the handcuffs were placed on him, tight as possible, making him wince. _

"_Vitch, you know what to do." Alex froze. No, they couldn't…they had just promised…_

"_Must I?" The last of the men spoke, his accent one that he couldn't place. His eyes were piercing blue in colour and conveyed his disinterest as much of his tone. _

"_The boss ordered it. She wants Rider to suffer. Starting now." _

_The man sighed but in one swift movement a gun was pushed against Jack once again however this time the trigger was pulled. _

"_You said you wouldn't kill her!" Alex screamed over the sound of the gunshot. He couldn't help but look at Jack, her head slumped against her chest, blood pooling around her. It was an image that would haunt his nightmares. _

"_Let's go," the killer, 'Vitch', said, avoiding Alex's gaze when he glared at him. Tears flowed freely down his face and he didn't care. Jack was gone. Jack had been murdered. And it was all his fault. _

"You killed her" Alex whispered and Burton looked faintly amused.

"Looks like the kid figured it out" he said. Vitch shrugged but offered no comment. Alex wasn't having that.

"How could you!?" He screamed and Burton kicked him again.

"Shut up kid, unless you want me to gag you."

Vitch walked over calmly. "I am an assassin. Killing is what I do," he said emotionlessly and Alex saw red.

"She didn't have to die though! I was going to come with you." Though he was quieter, he conveyed no less anger than before.

"I was following orders, something I believe you are very familiar with."

"Damn it Vitch, stop the conversation and find out when they're going to get there." Burton was getting more anxious. His eyes kept darting into the forest of which they were now on the outskirts of.

"I told you, they will be here soon. As long as you covered your tracks well enough I believe we will be fine."

Burton huffed and folded his arms, not content with the answer but unable to do anything about it. "I don't see why we can't just kill him now," he muttered and Vitch sighed, as if this was a conversation he'd had with the man a million times.

"The boss does not want him dead and I do not kill children. I will not allow you to kill the boy Burton," he said patiently and Burton huffed again. "I know; it would just be easier."

Alex drowned out the rest of the conversation. That phrase had sounded so familiar. It looked like Yassen wasn't the only one with the 'I do not kill children' moral. Alex knew it was strange to be comparing this Vitch to the deceased assassin so much but it was hard not to. They were similar in ways that felt too large to be coincidences.

"What's your name?" He asked, figuring this would allow him put his mind at ease if the man would answer him. Maybe his name would establish some sort of connection. He still wanted to scream and rage at the man, but he was burying that fury deep down until it could be utilised properly.

Vitch raised an eyebrow and Burton snorted. "As if he would tell you kid."

"I will let you work it out," Vitch just said and Burton looked at him like he had two heads.

"I know you're cryptic but why the hell should the kid know your name?"

Vitch shrugged. "That is not for you to know."

Burton glared at the other man but otherwise stayed silent. It was obvious to Alex that this Vitch was the leader of the two.

"You're name isn't Yassen."

Vitch nodded, "You are right, it is not."

Burton groaned. "Just stop this little game you have going on and be quiet! We don't need to alert anyone to the fact we're here and will you please just at least call the others and see how far away they are?"

Vitch rolled his eyes but pulled out a phone. "If it will make you feel better."

Burton exhaled in exasperation and gave Alex the evil eye. "And you; shut your mouth or I really will be gagging you. I am so not getting paid enough for this."

Alex refrained from sticking his tongue out and instead slumped against the tree he had been propped against. He silently prayed for K-Unit to get there soon.

* * *

_A massive thank you for all reviews, favourites and follows! You guys are great! _


	11. Chapter 11

When Ben found them, he had to restrain himself from blatantly running out there and whisking Alex to safety. There were two reasons that this was a stupid idea. The first reason was that his team mates would probably never forgive him for going in alone, especially if something went wrong. The second reason was that he was armed with only a single gun and there were two of them. He could get a shot at one of them but then either he or Alex was in danger from the other one. The risk at going leaving Alex be was unfortunately lower than the risk of exposing himself.

Alex seemed relatively unhurt from what he could see, which wasn't much as he was at completely the wrong angle. There were two men with him that he could spot but there was always the chance there could be more. Despite this, Ben was fairly confident that it was just the two of them. He wondered why they were hanging around as it would surely make more sense to get as far away as possible, but he wasn't going to question it too much. This gave him and the others the chance to rescue Alex.

Ben took a few silent steps back so that when the others arrived, their presence wouldn't alert the men and they could come up with a plan. Luckily, the arrived only a few minutes later and Wolf scanned the area.

"We need to go for the one with Alex first," Wolf murmured, keeping an eye on the kidnappers to make sure they didn't leave. "Ben and I will handle that. Snake and Eagle, you two stay back so they only think it's the two of us. Come out if we need you. These men will likely shoot to kill so we need to be careful. It's best if we can take them alive so MI6 can interrogate them and hopefully give us some more information on the people who keep coming after Alex."

Wolf outlined a few more details of the plan and they confirmed they understood. Ben and Wolf moved forward until they were a few trees away from the one Alex was leaning against. Wolf was to the right, Ben to the left.

Ben lifted his gun up and aimed it. There was no point going for the chest, not only did they want the man alive but there was a high chance he was wearing a bullet proof vest. He angled it down and fired.

The man collapsed with a pain filled curse. "Shit, I told you!" He growled at his companion as he raised his own gun in the direction of the shot. The other man also raised his gun but he appeared far less concerned.

"Come out," the shot man ordered. He changed the direction of his gun. "Or I'll shoot the kid."

"I wouldn't if I were you," Wolf appeared behind the man and butted him in the head. He wasn't knocked unconscious, but he fell forward and Wolf was able to take the gun from him, kicking it a good few feet away. He pressed a foot onto the man's back and pinned him to the floor, not that he'd be able to get too far with a bullet in the knee.

Wolf quickly glanced at Alex who was pretty calm and gave Wolf an exasperated look as if saying 'Finally, you took your time'. Wolf rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the other man who hadn't made any move to help his partner. His gun was set on Wolf, but he made no indication that he was going to shoot any time soon.

"I would shoot you," he said after a moment's silence. "But I assume that your friend would shoot straight after, and if he did not then one of your other two comrades would."

Knowing that they'd all been spotted, Ben, Snake and Eagle all came out from behind the trees with their guns raised. They had the disadvantage that they weren't wearing any protection, in fact they were still in their pyjamas, but they outnumbered him.

Snake slowly made his way over to Alex. He didn't make a move to untie him, but if a shot was fired at the teen, he would easily be able to protect him from it.

"It seems we have a dilemma. I do not want to shoot the boy and my boss would be most displeased were I not to fulfil her order," the man said thoughtfully. He sighed and his shoulder's slumped marginally. "I suppose I know what I must do."

Faster than any of them could anticipate, the man fired a bullet. There was no time for his victim to move and they slumped down, a shot in their head.

Ben stood stunned. None of the unit had been hit, and Alex was fine. The guy had killed his own partner.

"Care for one last guess of my name, Alex?" The man asked conversationally.

Ben looked towards Alex confusedly and the boy shrugged. "I didn't know if Yassen had any family, but that's all I can think."

The man nodded, pleased with his answer. "You would be correct. For a long time, Yassen did not have any family for I was not supposed to be alive." With a free hand, the man pulled off his mask.

"My name is Kirill Gregorovitch."

Alex was able to see the family resemblance. He had blonde close cropped hair just as his brother had, but Kirill's had streaks of brown. His nose was crooked, suggesting it had been broken more than once and his face shape was very similar to Yassen. He looked much younger than Yassen though, so much so that Alex thought he couldn't be much older than his early twenties.

"You're his brother." It was a statement, not a question, but Kirill still nodded.

"Yes. Now, I would suggest you get out of here before my associates come. I hope to not see you again, Alex."

Before any of them could make a move to stop him, Kirill ran from them to the road nearby. Wolf tried to get a shot at him but all of them missed and they were left alone with a dead body.

"I get the feeling we've missed something," Eagle said slowly, twisting to face Alex who was being untied by Snake.

"It's not important," Alex dismissed but Wolf wasn't going to accept that.

"It obviously is Cub," he said. "I get the feeling that whatever just went on between you two had something to do with the fact you're safe and we're unharmed. I want to know what it is."

"I said it's none of your business" Alex replied, getting angry. "Look, he gave us a warning that people are coming and you know what? I'd really rather make sure they _don't_ find us."

Wolf didn't like to admit it, but Alex had a point. Any discussion he wanted to have could wait till they'd left the area.

"Are you hurt?" He asked Alex and the teen shook his head. "Not badly."

This concerned Wolf slightly, and Snake by his expression, but Wolf trusted that Alex would tell them if any injuries he sustained would hinder their movement. They quickly made their way back to the tents and only bothered picking up their belongings. Putting down the tents would take too long and Wolf wanted them out of the forest and back home as soon as possible.

In the car, Ben called MI6 and explained to them what had happened. They promised they'd send some agents out to see if they could find the people Kirill had been talking about and asked if they needed any further assistance. Ben told them they didn't and hung up.

"This is ridiculous," he grouched, sliding his phone back into his bag. "I'm going to see Blunt tomorrow and get him to tell me what's going on. We need to know what we're dealing with here if we're going to be able to protect Alex."

Alex rolled his eyes. "I'm still here and voluntarily seeing Blunt 3 times in the span of a week? You're either brave or mad."

"Mad seems like a good description," Ben muttered.

They made it back to the flat without any problems and Alex headed straight to his room. Or at least he tried.

"Not so fast Cub," Wolf called out to him. Alex stopped and grudgingly turned around.

"I'm tired. Can't this wait till the morning?"

"No cos otherwise you'll just try and get out of it again. Much like you've been doing to all our other questions. Now sit," Wolf commanded, pointing to the sofa.

Alex looked longingly in the direction of his room for a few seconds before doing as Wolf said and slouching in his seat with his arms folded. His chest hurt from the kicks and he was tired as hell from his impromptu kidnapping. Was going to his bed too much to ask? According to the four men in front of him, it apparently was.

"So, we'll start of easy. Who's Yassen?"

Wolf obviously wasn't going to let him go without some answers so Alex was determined to be as vague as possible.

"He worked for a criminal organisation as an assassin. He turned up in a couple of my missions. He's dead now."

"Ok. What's so important about him that his brother decided not to kill any of us?"

Alex shrugged. Honestly, he wasn't completely sure. He didn't know how much Yassen had told his brother about Alex, or what Kirill's motives were.

"I don't know why he didn't kill you. He didn't kill me because he doesn't kill children. Yassen said the same thing to me. It sounds like some sort of family code," Alex said, rubbing his wrists. The skin had been rubbed by the rope and was now irritating him. Snake noticed this and went to get him some cream for it.

"Do you think Kirill could be working for the same people as Yassen?" Eagle asked.

Alex grimaced. The name had never been said during the time he'd spent in captivity previously, but he'd suspected it. They said SCORPIA never forgive, SCORPIA never forget and they were right.

"I think so," Alex admitted.

"So then you know the people trying to kidnap you," Ben said hopefully and Alex gritted his teeth. He absolutely refused to talk about SCORPIA in the off chance that they wanted to know how he knew about them in the first place. That would then open a whole new can of worms he wasn't ready to deal with yet.

Fortunately, Snake came out at this point with the cream and they gave him some time to apply it. He sighed in relief when the pain immediately started to ease.

"Yassen never said who he worked for," Alex lied, hoping they'd buy it. Sadly, with the strain he'd been put under and the fact he was extremely tired meant his lying ability wasn't up to scratch and Ben saw this.

"You're lying," Ben said, his tone wasn't accusing but Alex closed off.

"So? You said you wouldn't force me to answer anything I didn't want to and I don't want to answer this," Alex said, standing.

"Woah, let's calm down here." Wolf raised a hand. "I get you not wanting to tell us everything but you're in danger Cub. Don't you understand that? Anything you have to tell us could be valuable and I think MI6 would need to know it as well in order to stop them. Give us a break here Cub."

Alex clenched his fists. "Give _you _a break? How about you give me one! All you've been interested in since I came here was my life and when will you get it that I will only tell you stuff if you don't force me and prove that I can trust you! Just because you've saved me a couple of times doesn't mean I owe you. If anything, MI6 owe you for keeping their precious spy alive. You know what, I don't even care anymore. I'm going to bed and you are _not_ going to stop me."

Alex walked to his room without looking back. Wolf blinked owlishly, wondering how it had all suddenly gone out of control.

"That could have gone better," Eagle acknowledged quietly and Wolf glared at him.

"Well, if you thought you could have done better why didn't you say anything?" He snapped and Eagle leant back with his palms raised.

"Hey, don't get mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you," Wolf muttered sullenly. "I just want to protect that kid and he's making it damned hard."

Ben sighed. "You can hardly blame him Wolf. These things take time, but I do see your point. When I go see Blunt tomorrow I'll ask if he knows who's after Alex and what details he can give us. I know Alex will hate me for doing it but right now I want to keep him alive to hate me."

"It's a better plan than none," Snake conceded. "Now, I don't know about you but I think I may follow Alex's example and go to bed. I'm shattered."

And so the four worn out men went to bed, each wondering if they'd ever get Alex to open up to them.

* * *

_Thank you for all the new favourites, follow and for the review! I hope this is still enjoyable!_


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning, Ben found himself once again in front of Blunt who looked equally displeased to see him.

"Agent Daniels," he sighed. "What can I do for you now?"

"I want you to tell me all you know about the people who kidnapped Alex. We believe it necessary information to have in order to protect him."

Blunt raised an eyebrow. "I believe I decide what you ought and oughtn't know," he said sharply. "But I concede to the point that perhaps you should be given the general idea. Alex was taken by an organisation called Scorpia. He had a run in with them a few months ago and stopped then from killing schoolchildren in London. They weren't best pleased with him for that and Scorpia aren't known for allowing such an incident to go unpunished. It was fortunate we were able to locate Agent Rider as quickly as we did considering the power they have. It is unsurprising that they are trying to get him back. They want to make him suffer for what he did."

A few months ago. This must have been the mission that got Alex shot. He didn't say this out loud, but filed it away for later use. Instead, he said, "So, you're basically saying they're never going to stop until they get him."

"We are currently attempting to disband them but you have to realise that this is not an easy task. Scorpia are an old organisation that spans all around the world. I have some of my best agents in there but it will not happen overnight," Blunt explained.

"Then when will Alex be safe? If these people are going to be constantly coming after him then he's never going to be able to have a normal life! And it's your fault."

Blunt huffed. "I think you'll find that it's Agent Rider's own fault that is caught up in this business. He sought them out himself. I will admit that we later sent him back in to stop their plan, but he was the one to make contact with them first out of his own choice. Do not talk as if you understand things, Agent Daniels, as you do not. Now, will that be all?"

It was very clear that anything else Ben asked would be dismissed. Blunt was no longer in the mood for talking with him and so he left, feeling like with every question that had been answered, three more had come in their place. Why would Alex seek out such a dangerous criminal organisation? He didn't doubt Alex had his reasons but Ben couldn't think of one for it. He resolved to ask the teen about it when he got home. He knew Alex wouldn't want to answer him as this was obviously the mission that was causing Alex so much pain to talk about. Perhaps opening up about it, however hard it may be to get him to do so, would help in the long run. Both his mental state and how to stop him being taken again.

Idly, he wondered if he and the others were out of their depth. Ben had been confident at the start of this that they'd be able to protect him but so far there had been two kidnap attempts that had only been stopped due to sheer luck. A minor change in events and Alex would be back with them, a captive once more.

But they had promised that they would look after Alex, and they would. They just had to be more careful, so no more impromptu camping trips. Perhaps they could give Alex a tracker so that they could keep an eye on his whereabouts at all times. Alex may not like it, but if it kept him safe then it was worthy investment.

Ben decided he would bring the matter of Scorpia up with Alex when he got home and asked the Wolf and Eagle if he was up yet.

"He hasn't come out of his room," Wolf said as he completed some work on his laptop. "I don't know if he's still asleep or just refuses to talk to us." In the morning, Wolf did feel a slight regret at how he had tried to force Alex to talk to them, and he would apologise when he had the chance, however he still thought that it was information he needed to know.

"What did Blunt have to say?" Eagle asked, turning down the volume on the TV.

"Not much. Apparently the people after Alex are called Scorpia and he dealt with them a few months ago." Snake opened his mouth but Ben carried on. "Yes, I think that's related to his bullet wound. According to Blunt they're serious business and they won't stop going after Alex till they have him. They literally never let go of a grudge."

Wolf sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "How Blunt and his lackeys could get Alex involved in this with good conscious is beyond me."

"Well, according to Blunt, Alex initially sought them out on his own." Ben raised a hand in defence when the other's looked ready to call bullshit. "I don't know how much of that is true and I'm going to wait till I hear Alex's side of the story".

Eagle snorted. "Good luck with that. I think he hates us and I don't really blame him," he said, glancing at Wolf who rolled his eyes then glared back.

Ben shrugged. "I'll give it a go. If I don't come out in twenty minutes, send someone to find my body." He went to Alex's room and knocked on the door. There was no reply and Ben pressed his ear against the door. He could hear quiet moans and Ben summarised that Alex must still be asleep and having a nightmare. Ben gently opened the door and went inside.

Alex was shifting slightly in his bed, hands clenched tightly around the sheets. He was twisted on his side, which made it easy for Ben to softly place a hand on the teens back and rub it up and down. Alex started to soothe almost immediately and Ben smiled. Since Wolf first applying this in the hospital and Snake's failed attempt at waking him, they had taken to soothing Alex in this manner when they found him having a nightmare. Once he was sure the nightmare was over, Ben stood from his kneeled position on the floor and resolved to come back later. At least, he would have if Alex hadn't woken up just as he had his hand on the door.

"Ben?" The teen asked; his voice groggy and his eyes blinking owlishly.

Ben winced. Alex probably wouldn't be pleased if he knew what he was doing. The teen wasn't one to enjoy being exposed as vulnerable and he hated taking help when it was offered.

"Hey Alex, I had come in to see if you were awake as I wanted to talk to you about something. It can wait till you're ready and have eaten though."

Alex sighed resignedly. "Because I wasn't expecting this in the slightest."

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but it really is important." Ben tried to explain. "As I said, it can wait till you're ready."

Ben left Alex to get ready and came in to Snake just hanging up his phone.

"That was the Sergeant," he said, once he had everyone's attention. "He said that our new Unit member was coming to meet us today. He had tried to get the guy to hang back but apparently he was very enthusiastic and said he would be willing to meet us at the flat if we were more comfortable. Of course, he didn't want to explain Cub or our association with MI6 without our permission and so couldn't think of a reasonable excuse to say no. He'll be coming to dinner for around half six."

The rest of the group frowned. "Is there no way we can try to get him to rearrange ourselves?" Eagle asked and Wolf answered.

"We could but the only thing I could think of saying is that one of us was ill and that excuse won't last the whole time Cub is with us. No, we'll just have to meet with him now. It may be good, if he's fine with Cub and everything then that shows he'll be a good fit in the Unit. It's not ideal, but we'll have to make do."

Ben sighed. "Everything seems to be coming all at once."

Snake shrugged in a 'what can you do' way and said "Is Cub up now? I never checked him over last night and I should have."

"He's just getting ready." Ben said and Snake took that as his cue to go and knock on Cub's door.

"What now?!" Was the sullen response and Snake called out it was him.

Alex must have realised what he wanted and grudgingly allowed him to come in. He was running a comb through his hair, but put it down when Snake entered.

"I know you've just got changed but would you mind taking of your shirt so I can change the bandages and make sure that nothing has gone wrong due to last night?" Snake asked and Alex huffed but did as Snake wanted.

Snake examined him closely and whilst it looked like the stitches on his stomach had been stretched a bit, they hadn't come undone. Alex had a few more bruises, one right on the stitch which looked painful, but other than that was no worse off than he had been before. Snake skilfully changed Alex's bandages and allowed him to put his shirt back on.

"You've been taking your medication?" Snake checked and was pleased when Alex confirmed he had been.

"Good. Well, everything looks fine. There's toast in the kitchen if you want and there's also something we need to tell you."

"Yeah I know, Ben already told me", Alex grouched.

"That's not it. I'm afraid there's more. But we'll talk about it soon," Snake said.

Alex huffed at the idea of even more important talks but didn't complain. It wasn't worth it. He made his way into the kitchen and the adults waited until he had finished breakfast before beginning the first of two conversations. They started with the better one.

"The Sergeant called me earlier to say that our new Unit member would be coming to meet us today," Snake started. "He's going to see us here for dinner, around half six. You can either eat with us or have something earlier if you don't want to meet him. We had tried to arrange it so that it wouldn't be so soon but unfortunately the guy was pretty insistent. We also decided we would tell him about you to see if we would really be able to work with him. Is that ok?"

Alex raised a shoulder. "Does it really matter if I'm not? You'll probably tell him anyway."

"You're right," Snake said bluntly and Alex raised an eyebrow at the honesty. "I just thought I'd ask to be polite and show you that you can trust us even if we do some stuff you don't agree with."

Alex looked a bit confused. "I don't think you know the meaning of the word trust."

Snake gave a half smile. "It's a twisted definition, I'll give you that. But anyway, you're an important part of our lives now and our new Unit member will need to know that if we're to get along."

Alex wanted to question the 'important part of our lives' bit, but figured he wanted to have as few 'big' discussions as possible that morning. Best to focus on the one at hand.

"I don't care. I'll meet him." After all, it would be nice to meet a new person who wasn't trying to kill him for once. As long as the guy wasn't a dick it would be fine.

"Ok, that's that sorted. Ben?"

Ben cleared his throat. "I spoke to Bunt today Alex. I asked him about the people who kidnapped you and he gave me some details. He told me about Scorpia."

Ben knew Alex would possibly have a reaction to the name, but he didn't expect the teenager to skid back in his chair and stand.

"How much did he tell you?" He asked, looking ready to run.

"Woah Cub. Sit down will you?" Wolf said but Alex didn't hear him or just plain ignored him. His focus was on Ben.

"Not much," Ben said, raising his hands. "Just that you'd had a run in with them a few months ago after you stopped them killing schoolchildren. Apparently they have a pretty big grudge with you."

Alex seemed a bit calmer when Ben explained, but he didn't sit back down.

"Then what do you want to talk about?" He asked guardedly. Ben had said he wanted to discuss, not just state facts.

"Well, when I asked Blunt how he'd managed to get you involved in this he said that you went looking for them first. I wondered why."

Alex pursed his lips. If he started answering that, one thing would lead to another and eventually everything would be laid bare. Alex considered that thought for a moment. Maybe it would be better once it was all out, they would realise what he'd almost done and decide they didn't want the job anymore, rather than deciding it later.

"Fine. I'll tell you" He ignored their pleased looks and began explaining. He told them that Yassen had been the one to tell him to seek out Scorpia, not allowing anyone to interrupt when it already looked like they wanted to already. He spoke of his family, of his father who had been employed by Scorpia as an assassin. Again, they looked like they were going to interrupt and Alex said if they did it again then he wouldn't tell them anymore. That shut them up.

He carried on, explaining how he'd accepted a job from them and his first task had been to kill Mrs Jones. Ben had looked pained at this, but considering he had seen her alive and well, reassured himself with that thought as Alex continued. That had been the part Alex was dreading, when they realised the lengths he would go to.

They all looked more relieved when Alex said he had re-joined MI6 again as a double agent and that his father had done the same. He ended it off with being shot and the others were silent for a while. Wolf was the first to voice his thoughts.

"Well shit Cub. Looks like you've been through more than I have."

"And that's only one mission," Alex said dryly with a small smirk. He waited for the inevitable to happen.

Ben noticed Alex's stance. His face and voice may suggest he was calm, but his hands were gripping the chair tightly and his smirk was pained. Realisation shot through him. Alex thought they were going to hate him.

"Hey Alex," he said, using the teens real name for once, "I don't know what you're thinking but this doesn't change anything. Well, that's a lie. I think you're damn braver than I initially thought and it looks like you were destined to have trouble follow you. I get that you probably feel bad by almost killing Mrs Jones, but you didn't."

Alex interrupted him. "But I was going to, if it weren't for the trick."

Ben shook his head. "You said it yourself, the angles were all wrong; you wouldn't have got her with the bullet. Sure, you made some bad decisions, but with all the lies you'd been told I'm not surprised."

Alex didn't look convinced, but his grip on the chair had eased and his assurance had spurred the others on to do the same. They each gave their own reassurance that they did not blame Alex for anything, just for the adults who had lied to him. Wolf even called him a badass, which had led to Ben reprimanding him for his language. Wolf had just shrugged.

"He's heard worse."

"Now that that's settled, we need to see about arranging tonight," Snake said and Alex shot him a grateful look for the distraction. As the other's set about discussing what they would do, Alex quietly on the sofa and watched some TV. He may still feel guilt at what he had tried to do to Mrs Jones, but the knowledge that these men didn't blame him, eased it somewhat. Maybe they were ok. Just maybe.


	13. Chapter 13

That afternoon, Alex was reading in the living room whilst Eagle and Wolf were debating dinner.

"We can't have take-away. We're not really making an effort there and he may notice that," Eagle argued and Wolf rolled his eyes.

"Well if you feel like making a three course meal then go on ahead."

"…I can't cook. You know that."

Wolf nodded. "Exactly, none of us can. Take-outs the only option."

Alex had noticed that their meals had mainly consisted of either ready meals, take-out or meals a five year old could cook. He supposed they were used to their meals either being for convenience or made for them, thus meaning they had never learnt to cook properly. Alex, who was finding this conversation painful to listen to, decided he should put them out of their misery.

"You know, I can cook," he said conversationally.

Wolf jerked his head towards Alex. "Wait, seriously?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, a bit. I don't know, you just don't seem the cooking type."

Alex shrugged. "Jack taught me, said it was a valuable life skill and I was not going to live on junk food when I was older." The unspoken 'like you' was obvious but Wolf didn't call it out. Cub rarely spoke of his dead guardian.

"Good reason. So, do you think you could cook a meal for tonight?"

"Yeah sure. As long as you have some decent food."

If there was one thing Alex knew that night, it was that he had no idea how these men had managed to survive for so long alone. He idly wondered if they had gone into army to escape everyday life. There was barely any food in the fridge that Alex could make a meal out of so Eagle was forced to call Ben, who was out getting some beer, and ask him to pick up some ingredients as well. Alex listed to Eagle what he wanted who recited it to Ben. With every item Eagle looked more and more confused and once he'd hung up he asked "Why do you need so much? And why do you need all those weird named stuff?"

"You mean stuff like coriander?" Eagle nodded and Alex barely refrained from sighing.

"If you want it to actually taste good then you need stuff like herbs and spices."

"Oh…" Eagle became quiet, looking thoughtful. "Do you think I could watch you cook? I never had a chance to learn but it sounds pretty useful."

"Yeah, feeding your body is generally considered useful," Alex said dryly. "But sure. I can give you some easy stuff to do."

Eagle grinned. "Great!

Half an hour later, Ben returned with a bag full of the stuff Alex requested. He began working on the meal, roast chicken with new potatoes and vegetables. For such a simplistic meal, the adults in the room were strangely fascinated as watched him cook. He gave Eagle easy tasks like chopping the vegetables but by the look on his face, you would have thought he was making the whole meal. While the chicken was roasting, Alex asked if they wanted him to make dessert as well.

"Yes!" Ben said enthusiastically. At the stares he was given, he rubbed the back of his neck and said, "What? You guys know I have a sweet tooth."

Alex hadn't thought of telling Ben to get any food for dessert, but he was able to use the ice in the fridge and the fruit in the fruit bowl to make a sorbet. Now that there was nothing more he could do, he asked the others if they knew anything about their new Unit member.

"His codename's Puma," Snake said. "Apparently he was in a previous Unit but they didn't connect very well and he asked to be transferred. The Sergeant didn't want to put him in a new Unit that was just learning the basics and so decided to put him in ours. I don't know anything personal about him, but I know someone from the Unit he was in previously. They said he's alright but has a bit of a temper. Part of the reason they didn't get on was that one of them made a comment about his ability on the assault course, nothing too critical, but he flew off the rails. Got quite a few punches in before they pulled him away."

Alex pulled a face. "Are you sure you want someone like that in the Unit?"

"We don't really have much choice in the matter," Snake explained patiently. "Our Unit is already under a lot of scrutiny, we can't really afford to be picky."

Alex saw Wolf turn and frown in the corner of his eye. "Why's that?"

Wolf stared at Snake warningly and Snake twitched his head down in acknowledgement that this was not his story to tell. "Just a mishap in our last mission that caused us to be sent back. Anyway, that's part of the reason it's best to make a good impression to our new Unit member, who knows when they'll find another one if he doesn't want to be part of our Unit."

Alex was now full of burning curiosity, yet he held it at bay. It would be hypocritical for him to pry when he'd argued with them countless times for trying to do the same with him. So instead, he asked, "Does that mean you want me to hide out in my room tonight?"

Funnily enough, they actually looked offended at the idea that Alex would ask such a thing.

"No way Cub," Wolf said, "You're kind of like the package deal. If they want to be part of the Unit then they have to be able to accept you."

Alex was now confused. "But Snake just said that you need to make a good impression and I doubt they'll be impressed with me being here. Doesn't make it sense for me to not make it any harder than it needs to be?"

Wolf actually had the gall to glare at him when Alex was being perfectly logical.

"No Cub. Sure, we want to make a good impression but if it's clear he has an issue with you then we won't have him in the Unit."

Alex huffed. "I don't see why it matters so much when I'll be gone once I'm better." It was something he'd been thinking about often lately. He was healing, in fact, if this were anything like the previous times he'd be back at school with no problems. He didn't want to raise this point too much thought because he definitely did not want to be left in Blunt's hands.

Wolf shrugged. "Maybe you will be, maybe we'll be able to sort something else out. But I stand by what I say, he has a problem, he's out." He said it nonchalantly, but Alex didn't miss the fact Wolf spoke about another option for him, as if there were one.

"Fine, you're just stupid if you think it's worth it."

Wolf looked close to physically growling, but Ben placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Alex wouldn't want to hear anything placating. He wouldn't truly believe it.

"Well, now that that's sorted out…" Snake began but he was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. "…I was going to say we should probably set things up but it's too late now. I'll just get the door."

"Wait, let Cub do it." Wolf stopped Snake.

"Me? Why?" Alex asked. It was almost as if Wolf wanted the new Unit member to hate him or something.

"Think of it as his first test. If he doesn't outright dismiss you then he's free to come in."

Alex shook his head in exasperation but did as Wolf said. The others began setting out cutlery as Alex opened the door.

Alex's first impression of Puma was that he was big; taller than all of the others and his arm muscles looked as big as Alex's head. He had tan skin and his bald head revealed a patch of skin that looked like it had been badly burnt. The skin was still red and it flaked slightly. His brown eyes were cold, but he regarded Alex with curiosity. He folded his arms over his chest and Alex glimpsed a tattoo of a blood red eye poking from under his sleeve.

"I haven't got the wrong house, have I?" His voice was deep and grumbly and Alex shook his head, unsure what to make of Puma.

"No, this is K-Unit's place." He answered and Puma looked even more inquisitive.

"I was not aware they had a child living with them."

"I'm fourteen actually." Alex replied coldly, and the man just lifted a shoulder disinterestedly.

"You're younger than eighteen, so you're a child."

Alex scowled and Wolf felt this was the time to intervene. "Hello Puma. This is Cub, I don't know if you remember him or not…"

Puma's eyebrows rose. "I entered training soon after he left. I have heard the stories; people still talk about the infamous Cub."

Alex couldn't help but be pleased his little stint there was still remembered.

"I've got to say though, I imagined you differently."

"Oh yeah?" Alex challenged, narrowing his eyes at the large man.

"I thought you would be…taller, less…" He trailed off and Wolf took that as his cue to usher Puma in before Alex could retort angrily. The man hadn't properly insulted Alex, so he couldn't find a real reason to turn him out; however he would still keep an eye on him.

"We have roast chicken for dinner, I hope you don't mind," Ben said as he gestured to the chairs. "Cub made it."

"Smells alright," Puma said indifferently as he sat down in the chair Snake had pulled back for himself. Snake frowned slightly but didn't say anything.

"Why do you still refer to the boy as Cub? He isn't a part of the SAS," Puma said as they had all settled in their seats. His tone was light, but it rubbed Alex the wrong way. Ben answered for him, however.

"Just because he is a part of the SAS anymore doesn't mean he doesn't deserve the nickname. I don't see it as a problem, do you?" Ben challenged and Puma shrugged.

"I was merely curious, just as I'm curious why you are here. You left for MI6 didn't you?"

Ben looked like he was barely holding back a scowl. He pasted on a fake smile. "I live here and I thought I would quite like to know who was replacing me."

"Fair enough," Puma conceded. An awkward silent fell over the group as food was dished out. Though Puma hadn't been outright rude, everything he said seemed to be a thinly veiled insult and it felt like they were moments from breaking out into a fight with every sentence. Wolf knew this wasn't a good start, but hoped that maybe it was just nerves that was causing Puma to act this way.

Whilst eating, K-Unit and Ben tried to find out more about Puma, much in the same way Eagle had done with Alex initially.

"Have you always wanted to be in the army?" Eagle asked when the conversation had trailed of for the third time. This man could give Alex a run for his money when it came to giving stilted, short answers.

"Not really. A friend decided I should join and considering I had nothing better to do and it suited my skills, I thought I might as well."

Eagle's lips turned down slightly. "That's an…odd reason to join. You do realise it's a really dangerous job and stuff right? You need to be really committed."

Puma appeared amused. "I don't fear death, if that's what you're wondering. I may lack the patriotism but as long as I get the job done, that's all that matters, right?"

"…Right." Eagle looked a bit disturbed and to save himself from talking more, shoved a large forkful of food in his mouth.

They finished the meal and Snake brought out desert which Puma declined. "I'm not a fan of sweet things," he responded uncaringly. That left the other's to eat without him and Puma leant back.

"You know, I've been wondering if you're at all like the rumours said you were," he said, directing his question to Alex.

Alex stared back. "I wouldn't know; I haven't heard these rumours."

Puma grinned. "Fancy a spar? I promise to go easy on you."

Snake frowned. "I really don't think that's appropriate. Cub is injured you see and we've just had dinner. This was supposed to be just a chance to get to know each other, not fight."

"No, it's fine. I'll do it," Alex said, rising to the challenge. He wanted to prove to Puma that he was not some weak little kid, as he had been implying. He would show him, injuries be damned.

"Cub," Wolf said warningly. "It's fine. You shouldn't, you know this."

"Let the boy decide for himself Wolf," Puma admonished with a small, wicked, smile. "I won't be too rough on him. It would just be a sight to see."

All of the men except Puma were very annoyed and worried for Alex who looked very determined. Both Alex and Puma stood and moved to the centre of the room where there was the least furniture. Alex bent his knees slightly and braced himself. He wasn't fighting to win; he knew that his physical health and Puma's stature meant that there was a very slim chance he could win. No, he was fighting to prove himself and show Puma that those rumours were true.

"I'll let you have the first move," Puma said.

Clenching his hands slightly, Alex shot forward, hoping his speed would throw the man. It didn't, and Puma dodged Alex's kick with more grace than Alex thought he would have been capable of. Puma grabbed Alex by the heel and threw him back and Alex only managed to stay upright by doing a strange little hop. Alex again aimed a kick, but lower this time to try and throw Puma off balance, but Puma jumped over his leg aimed a kick of his own that did what Alex's failed to do. Alex fell to the floor but quickly got back up again, even though his injuries were beginning to protest.

"I expected more," Puma said tauntingly, and adrenaline surged through Alex, causing him to forget his wounds.

He leapt toward Puma and tried to get an elbow into the man, knowing that that was the only shot he had at hurting the man. Before it made contact, Puma caught Alex's elbow and pushed the boy away with a palm of his chest.

Immediately, Alex's bullet wound and ribs screamed. His breath was coming in short gasps and he fell to the floor. His vision was going blurry from the pain and he just heard Wolf shout at Puma to get out before someone was lifting him and he blacked out.

* * *

_Unfortunately, due to the fact I am getting closer to the end of my pre-written chapters and a lack of time because of very important exams, I may end up changing updates to every two weeks. Thanks again for all reviews, favourites and follows! _


End file.
